


"Joy To You and Me"

by Annielouwho1985



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Death, Explicit Language, Gen, Recreational Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:22:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 50,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23495989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annielouwho1985/pseuds/Annielouwho1985
Summary: Lucifer Morningstar has it all, a successful night club, an exciting day job with the LAPD, but he's still searching for something else, reaching for the next thrill. On a night like any other, a curious girl named Faith enters his life with a seemingly simple request. One favor turns into another, and the Devil finds himself teaming up with Faith, helping her complete a very specific list. But what happens when they get to the end of the list? Will either of them find the peace they've been searching for?
Relationships: Amenadiel & Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Chloe Decker & Lucifer Morningstar, Dan Espinoza & Lucifer Morningstar, Ella Lopez & Lucifer Morningstar, Linda Martin & Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Lucifer Morningstar & Original Female Character, Mazikeen & Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 59





	1. Rude Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> During this time of social distancing and staying at home, I've been binge watching Lucifer on Netflix. I don't know why I didn't find this show earlier, but I'm glad I found it now. Here's my first attempt at writing a fic in this universe. I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> I do not share Lucifer's opinions on plumbers or healthy eating and living, just FYI.
> 
> I do not own any of these characters.
> 
> This story was inspired by the song "Joy To You and Me" by Three Dog Night. https://youtu.be/kyI1OImD7ow

Lucifer Morningstar was on the floor. And it wasn’t the good kind of on the floor where the sexual partner you’re with has just surprised you and jumped your bones and knocked you to the floor kind of thing. This was the tedious kind, the infuriating kind, where you’ve tripped over something or slipped on something and are now on the floor. To make matters worse, he’d flailed on the way down, knocking the contents of a nearby end table to the ground with him. It was embarrassing, really, and for once he was glad not to have any overnight guests. Something like this would surely ruin his reputation. Lucifer Morningstar did not trip over thin air and land on his Italian marble floor. He was the Devil, for crying out loud. This was just ludicrous. It was ridiculous. It was human.

Hang on, there’s a thought. Lucifer fished his phone out of his bathrobe pocket and hit speed dial number one.

“Decker.”

“Detective, are you perchance in my penthouse?”

“Lucifer, it is 7:00 a.m. Why would I be in your penthouse?” the familiarly incredulous voice replied.

“I could think of a reason or two.” Or four or five, his mind provided before he made it shut up.

“I am not in your penthouse.”

“In my club, then?” he pressed.

“No.”

“Standing right outside on the street?”

Chole Decker sighed. “No, Lucifer, I am not on the street in front of your club.”

This was getting worrisome. Lucifer knitted his brows. “How close to me are you right now?”

“It is 7:00 in the morning. I am at my house getting my daughter ready for school,” the Detective replied, her response more of a growl than anything else.

“That’s troublesome,” Lucifer muttered.

“Why? What’s going on?”

Now it was Lucifer’s turn to sigh. “I’m on the floor.”

“You’re what?”

“I’m on the bloody floor.”

“Are you all right? Are you hurt?” The bite drained out of the Detective’s voice.

“I’m fine,” the Devil replied. And he was fine. It hadn’t even hurt; it was just the shock of it. 

“Did you trip?”

Lucifer sighed again and sat up. Had he tripped? If so, he’d be sure to incinerate the offending object. Upon sitting up, he realized there was water on his floor and that the bottoms of his feet were wet. “No, I think I slipped.” That didn’t sound any better. He kind of wanted to punch himself right now for being so lame.

“On what? Trixie, you cannot take those to school,” the Detective whispered to her daughter. She really needed to get Lucifer through this “crisis” so she could back to her morning routine. 

Lucifer stood up and looked down at the floor. There was a sizeable puddle of water, but where on earth had it come from? He didn’t remember incorporating an ice sculpture into last night’s hijinks. “Detective, there’s water on my floor. Why is there water on my floor?”

Chloe ran her hand over her face. Maybe she could change her number? “Are you in the bathroom?”

“No, I’m in the foyer, near the elevator.”

“Right, because your apartment has a foyer, I forgot.”

Lucifer looked behind the designer couch to spy even more water. “This is no good. Where is the water coming from?”

“Is your ceiling leaking?”

Lucifer looked up, but he didn’t know what he was looking for. He was the Lord of Hell, not a common day laborer. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe you have a busted pipe in your wall?”

Lucifer grunted in exasperation. “But what am I supposed to do about it?”

Chole fought the urge to throw her phone in the trash. “Mop the water up and call a plumber?”

“Mop the water up?” Lucifer scoffed. “With what, my 900 GSM bath towels? I think not.”

“I literally did not understand a word you said.”

Lucifer noticed the items he’d knocked off the end table, the items that were now unceremoniously soaking in the water. “Oh, damn!” He reached down and righted the lamp.

“What? Did you find the problem?”

The Devil picked up a silver clock radio and dumped the water out of it. The clock was way out of place with the rest of his décor. “My favorite piece of kitsch,” he lamented, “I have very fond memories of this clock, and the shyster who was selling them. He’s having a fine time marketing his products in hell now, I assure you.” Lucifer shook the clock again and gave it a good smack. The red light inside flickered back to life. The clock read 7:18, or maybe it was 7:28? It was hard to make out one of those numbers. “Ha, I have resurrected it! Suck it, Amenadiel.” There was silence on the other end of the line. “Detective, are you listening?” Another moment of silence. “Detective?”

“Lucifer, I have to get my daughter ready for school, and then I have to go to work. Just call a plumber.”

Lucifer set the clock back on the table. “Do you happen to know any?”

“You have a phone book.”

“A phone book? Have we met?”

Chloe took a deep breath through her nose. “You have the Internet, Google it.”

“But I don’t want some desperate miscreant in here with his crack hanging out for everyone to see.” Lucifer shuddered just thinking about it.

“Lucifer!” Chole snapped.

“Fine,” the Devil sighed. “I shall acquire a plumber.”

“Good.” Chloe was more than ready for this conversation to be over.

“But I really don’t have time for this today,” Lucifer droned on. “Tonight’s night six of my seven deadly decades party.”

Why hadn’t Chloe hung up? It would have been so easy to hit end. “I know, and the police have been called out to four of your six nights.”

“Yes, but you weren’t with them, sadly.”

Chole didn’t respond, but Lucifer pressed on, because hope springs eternal, even for the Devil. “Tonight’s the 80s, tomorrow is the 90s. There’s sure to be lots of slow jams, boy bands, Britney Spears. Not the actual Britney Spears, of course, but my Britney threesome, er trio, does a wonderful tribute.”

Chole bit her bottom lip. She couldn’t explain the slight twinge of guilt she felt for bailing on his parties. It wasn’t even her scene. “I really need to go, Lucifer.”

The Devil shifted his feet. “Me, too, these soirees take a lot of time to assemble.”

“I was surprised you called me this early. I thought you’d be sleeping until noon or later.”

“Don’t require much sleep to fire on all cylinders, Detective. It’s a gift.” Lucifer absentmindedly fiddled with the clock radio. One of its numbers still wasn’t reading clearly. “And I knew you’d answer, if I called.”

The Detective took a breath. She hoped it didn’t sound as shaky as it felt. “Goodbye, Lucifer.”

“Goodbye, Detective.” He kept the phone to his ear for a moment after she had hung up. Lucifer flexed his shoulders and looked back at the puddle on the floor. “Right, a plumber.” He dialed another number and waited for a response. “Detective Douche, do you know any plumbers?” He was greeted with an expletive and an abrupt end to the conversation. “Well, that was rude.”

Lucifer examined the puddle a little closer. It didn’t seem to be growing any. Maybe the incident was over? He did have a busy day and dealing with such trivial matters as a water leak really wasn’t on his list. Lucifer hurried into his bedroom. He grabbed his comforter and returned to the puddle. He spread the comforter out and covered the water. “I wanted a new one anyhow,” he remarked. Now he couldn’t even see the water. There, that was simple. On with the rest of his day.


	2. Party Like It's 1985

“Isn’t this wonderful, Maze?” the Devil exclaimed at he looked out at the brightly colored neon scene before him.

Maze took a swig of her drink. “It’s very bright, like sickeningly bright.”

“I know. All the unbridled avarice of the 80s without the bad things that came with it, the rise of the Religious Right, fall of the Eastern Block, Bob Saget.”

Maze examined Lucifer’s appearance. He looked like a sleazier version of Don Johnson in all his Miami Vice glory. “You look like a tool.”

Surprisingly, the Devil embraced her comment with a raise of his glass. “It’s the 80s, darling, and it gives me a chance to break out my linens. I never get to wear them.”

A young man tried to hurry past them on his way to the bathroom. Lucifer reached out and caught his arm, stopping him. “Where do you think you’re going?” he leered at the man.

“I, uh, was going to the bathroom.” The guy was about to sweat right out of his Members Only jacket.

“To do cocaine?” Lucifer reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, black case.

“That’s, uh, not mine?”

The Devil smiled. “Of course, it is, and you’re going to do it, but don’t go and hide it in the bathroom. It’s 80s night, the cocaine stays on the main floor.” He clapped the man on the back. The guy coughed and slouched forward. “Everyone, Marty McFly here has cocaine!” the Devil announced to the room. The crowd cheered. 

Lucifer returned the case to the man. “Go, have fun. Make friends.” He shooed him out onto the dance floor. The Devil leaned back and took pride in his work, then he had a thought. “I suppose it would’ve been more period correct to keep the cocaine in the bathroom, though.” He shrugged. “Oh, well.”

“You’re being weird,” Maze observed.

Lucifer didn’t know what she meant. “About the cocaine?”

“No, not the cocaine.” She ran her hand all around him. “It’s all this.”

“Really, what do you have against my linens?”

“The linens are the least of your problems, but we can start there.”

Lucifer started to snarl, but he thought the better of it. He wasn’t going to let Mazikeen ruin his party. He’d been looking forward to 80s night, almost as much as he was looking forward to 90s night and a certain guest who might show. But that was for tomorrow, tonight was all about neon and sunglasses and hair spray. Lucifer poured himself another drink. “Your side pony on too tight, Maze? I’m having a great night, never better.” He surveyed the floor again. “I’d say I’m at peak form. These decades’ parties have been the perfect piece of sin and bacchanalia. Hedonism at its finest.” That did remind him of something, though. “Oh, but I know what we should do next.”

Lucifer fished his phone out of his pocket and opened his photos to show her. “I went to this cheese festival last weekend and . . .”

“What?”

“A cheese festival, I went to a cheese festival. Do keep up.”

Maze set her glass down on the bar with pronounced force. “Why would the Devil go to a cheese festival?”

“For Chef Drexel, of course. I’ve been trying to get him to cater one of my parties forever. He’s so exclusive, almost as exclusive as me. I knew he’d be there, and . . .”

Maze stopped him from scrolling. She pointed to his screen. “What is that?”

“Oh, that’s me and a wee goat. I know, it’s cliché, the Devil and a goat, but I look good in this picture. I set it as my new Tinder photo. It’s gotten a lot of attention.” Maze swallowed the rest of her drink in one swig and poured herself another as he rambled on. “They also had the best cheese I’ve ever tasted in my life. Mazikeen, it would put heaven to shame. So I started thinking . . .”

Maze downed the rest of her new drink and looked the Devil in the eyes. “What is wrong with you?” she asked. Her eyes were boring right into him, and he didn’t like that at all. This time Lucifer did not conceal his snarl.

“Hi, um excuse me,” a voice spoke from his right. 

Maze glanced behind him. “I think one of your cheese heads followed you home.”

“What?” Lucifer turned around. There was a short girl beside him, very petite, and dressed in the grungiest set of denim and plaid he’d ever seen. “I’m sorry, dear, 90s night is tomorrow. No grunge allowed this evening, I’m afraid.”

The girl looked down at her attire and smirked. “Uh, no, I’m not here to party.”

“Then all the more reason to leave.” Lucifer picked up his drink and inclined it towards her. “Cheerio.” He started to go, giving Maze a pointed look that they would finish their conversation later, when the girl reached out and took his arm. The Devil whirled around, astounded by the audacity of this wisp of a human standing before him. But the girl didn’t back away. She didn’t even flinch. She just kept standing there, with her hand on his arm. 

“I came to ask a favor of the Devil.”

Lucifer shrugged her hand off. Maze stepped up, her defenses on high alert. “Mr. Morningstar isn’t in the favor granting mood right now.”

The girl laughed, and it took them both by surprise. “He’s the Devil. He’s always in the mood for a favor.”

“Who are you?” Lucifer wanted to know.

“A girl in need of a favor.”

He took a step closer to her, and he truly did dwarf her in size. But she didn’t back down, or even blink an eye. She was unnervingly calm. “Awfully brave, standing before the Devil like this. Tell me, little girl, what is it that you really desire?”

She waved his intense glare away with her hand. “Can we speed this along? I know you’re the Devil, and you have a schtick, but I really need to cut to the chase.”

Lucifer and Maze exchanged looks. There were two of them now, two people who were impervious to his powers? One was disturbing enough. The girl touched his arm again, and he flinched just a little. He was so glad he didn’t squeak. Flinching was bad enough.

“I need you to do me a favor and reject the favor of a very nice boy who’s going to come to you tomorrow.” The girl was so sincere and direct. She never looked away from him. “In exchange for an antique ring, he’s going to offer you Chef Drexel.”

Lucifer couldn’t control his exclamation. “Chef Drexel!”

“And all the Goat Orchard cheese you want, for life, which is forever for you, I guess.”

Lucifer looked at Maze. “Goat Orchard, that was the cheese I was talking about.” The Demon rolled her eyes. Lucifer looked back at the girl. “Why would I turn him down?”

“Because I can get you all that, too, and it would spare him from making a terrible mistake.”

“Oh, I see.” Lucifer leaned back against the bar. “That ring is for you.”

For the first time, the girl looked away. The Devil pressed his advantage. “And you don’t want to marry him, is that it?”

“No, I want to.” The girl looked at the floor. “But it would only end in misery for him.”

Lucifer’s lips turned up in a malicious smile. “So there is something wicked hiding under all that flannel?” He set his drink down and clasped his hands. “But there’s still the matter of me accepting your favor over his, and I’m not sure I want to. I think you can do better. Change my mind.”

The girl sighed in exasperation and looked out at the dance floor. “What is she doing?” Maze asked.

“I don’t know, some human thing,” Lucifer replied.

“Careful with that,” Maze cautioned. “She already thinks you’re the Devil.”

“I am the Devil, but she’s bluffing. Look at her, Maze, you could break wind and knock her over.” The Demon punched his arm.

The girl turned her attention back to them. “That guy right there is going to be really wet in like two minutes, maybe three.” She pointed to the man in the Members Only jacket. 

“What?” Maze asked.

“Trust me.” The girl looked Lucifer in his eyes again, and he was struck by the sincerity he saw there. With that, the girl turned and left, disappearing into the crowd.

“Want me to go after her?” Maze asked, poised and ready to take off. 

Lucifer held up his hand. “No, let her go. She’s no one. Inconsequential.” He took another swig of his drink, trying to swallow the words he’d just said. He turned back to the bar when there was a terrible groaning sound overhead. “What the hell is that?” There was a creaking noise followed by a breaking noise and then a gushing noise as a busted pipe broke through the ceiling, dumping water on everyone below, including the man in the Members Only jacket. 

Maze looked at Lucifer. “You wanna rephrase that?” The Devil didn’t reply. Instead, he grabbed a bottle from the bar and proceeded to drink it straight.


	3. And the Cheese Stands Alone

“The problem is your pipes, they are not up to code, probably original to this place. And your water’s too hard, and it’s been beating down on those old pipes, and it was only a matter of time,” the portly gentleman in the construction hat droned on.

Lucifer rubbed his temple as he nursed his scotch. Somehow, this morning was worse than yesterday when he’d found himself unexpectedly on the floor. “Okay, yeah.” The Devil set his drink down and fished in his jacket pocket. “I don’t care what the problem is, just fix it.” He produced a stack of money and passed it to the other man whose eyes went wide. 

“Uh, yes, sir.”

“All right, off you pop.” Lucifer shooed the man away and resumed his drink. He turned on his bar stool and faced the large mirror.

“This is a nice slice of humanity for you,” Maze commented from his left.

He eyed her for a moment. “Don’t you have somewhere to be, like eating the Detective out of house and home, or collecting on some bounty?”

The sounds of machinery, heavy machinery started up in the background and Lucifer shuddered. Maze smiled. “No, I like it right here.”

“I’m so glad my torment amuses you,” Lucifer quipped. 

“Demon,” she replied.

The Devil sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “Club’s closed until further notice. Apparently, you can’t operate without running water or working toilets.” Pesky humans and their need to relieve themselves. “I’ll have to cancel my 90s night,” he continued. “Won’t be able to complete my decades extravaganza.” That thought affected him more than it should. It made his gut ache, or maybe it wasn’t his gut? He scoffed, but his voice didn’t hold its usual level of bite. “Without tonight, what was the point?”

“Yes, what was the point?” Maze wanted to know.

The Devil didn’t want to meet her prying gaze right now. He took another drink and decided to deflect. “And I can’t even take a hot shower, which is one of the few pleasures on this spinning orb. I’ll have to go to a hotel, or a bath house, or Amenadiel’s.” An odd thought occurred to him. How did his angelic brother shower? If so, where did he shower? More importantly, where did he rest? “Does Amenadiel have a place?”

Maze opened her mouth to answer but found she couldn’t. “I don’t know.”

“How do we not know this?” Lucifer fished for his phone. He was going to get to the bottom of this one. “Probably has a little flat somewhere, obviously inferior to mine. Window box flowers, cow themed mailbox, that sort of thing. Oh, I hope it’s as hideous as it is in my head. I need a good pick me up.”

Lucifer was just about to ring his brother when Maze inclined her head, indicating someone was behind him. He turned to see a nervous, young man. The man was carrying a heavy cooler and he was dressed in holey denim and a plaid shirt. “Club’s closed, kid,” Maze warned.

“I, uh, figured.” The man glanced back at the pipe sticking through the ceiling. “But I’m not here for that. I need to ask Mr. Morningstar for a favor.”

The pieces clicked into place for the Devil. The girl from the night before, the clothes she’d worn, the man she’d predicted would come. “Ugh, do you all share each other’s clothes?”

“What?” The man was utterly confused.

“And that cooler is full of cheese?” Lucifer pointed at the cooler.

The man swallowed thickly. “Uh, yes.” Lucifer inclined his head, and the man set the cooler on the bar and opened it. The Devil stood and examined the contents.

“It’s the Goat Orchard sampler.” Lucifer picked up the cheese and sniffed it eagerly through the package.

“And I can get you more, an endless supply, for life,” the man hurried to add.

“And Chef Drexel?” the Devil pressed.

The man was taken aback once more. “Uh, I have his personal cell number. We grew up in the same commune.”

Lucifer scoffed. “Course you did.”

The man swallowed again and rubbed his sweaty palms across his jeans. “But I need your help. My family has this antique ring. It was my great grandmother’s, and it was supposed to be mine, but my uncle stole it some years back, and . . .”

The Devil cut him off. “And you want me to acquire this ring and return it to you so you can give it to some girl, right?”

“Yes, the love of my life.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “This girl of yours, is she small of stature, big on bravado, dresses like an extra in a Nirvana video?”

“Um, I guess?” 

Lucifer exchanged a look with Maze and then turned his full attention back to the man. “Why don’t we cut this pretense and you tell me what it is you really desire? Thought you could get one over on the Devil, did you? Was that the plan all along?” He loomed over the man.

“No,” the man whispered, his face void of all expression. “I just want the ring back. It’s the perfect ring, and she’s the perfect girl, and I really want to marry her.”

Lucifer scoffed again and released the man from his gaze. He turned back to Maze. “What do you think, Mazikeen?”

“I think they’re in it together.”

Lucifer took a drink and shook his head. “Look at him. He’s not the brightest bulb in the box. If he was hiding something, that would have cracked him open.”

“Are you talking about me?” The man was so confused.

“Oh, you’re still here.” The Devil turned back around.

“Will you help me out, Mr. Morningstar?” the man wanted to know.

Lucifer looked at the cooler of cheese. It was so very tempting, but then again that girl had told him not to accept this favor. But he was the Devil, since when did he let people tell him what he could and could not do? And he hadn’t made a proper deal with her, anyhow, so he wasn’t bound in any way.

Then came another crack from overhead and more of the broken pipe slipped through the ceiling. “Watch it!” one of the construction workers shouted.

“Is it safe in here?” the man asked.

“For you, no,” the Devil replied. He looked back at the cooler and slowly closed the lid. “I am rejecting your favor.”

“What?”

“What?” Maze echoed.

“I am rejecting your favor. I’m saying no.”

The man was crestfallen. “But everyone said you were the one to ask.”

Lucifer shrugged. “Normally I am.”

“This sucks,” the man spat and collected his cooler. He turned to leave, but Lucifer stopped him with his words.

“And son, maybe you don’t ask this girl to marry you, yeah? Maybe she’s not the one, or whatever? Mayhap she’s hiding something from you?”

“You don’t know anything about love,” the man muttered as he left.

“You let that girl get to you.” Maze didn’t often sound shocked.

Lucifer finished his drink. “No. I’m just weighing my options.” He set his glass down. “There’s something going on here, Maze, and I’m going to figure out what it is. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make that young man’s day just a little worse.” The Devil straightened his shirt cuffs and left the bar.


	4. I’ll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours

Lucifer had convinced the young man, who was unfortunately named Noah, to divulge the whereabouts of his almost intended. Now he was standing outside Gaia’s Organic Goodies and Smoothie Emporium. “Of course,” he sighed before entering.

“No way!” the boy behind the counter exclaimed. “You’re Lucifer Morningstar.”

“Guilty as charged.” Lucifer smiled.

“I knew it.”

“You knew what?”

“Behind that whole party lifestyle, you like to eat clean. I bet you want a seaweed, agave, gluten free beignet?”

Lucifer visibly gagged. “Those words don’t go together.”

“How ‘bout a kelp smoothie?”

“How ‘bout you go away?”

“It’s okay, Trevor,” a familiar voice spoke. “I’ve got this.” And there was the girl again, in all her plaid and denim glory, standing behind the counter, sporting a spotty apron. 

“Okay.” Trevor shrugged and retreated to the back. 

Lucifer approached the counter. “I figured I’d visit your place of business this time, turn about being fair play and all.”

The girl leaned forward and lowered her voice. “You didn’t hurt Noah, did you?”

“No, he’s fine, apart from his broken heart, which wasn’t my doing.”

The girl nodded. “It’s for the best.”

Lucifer watched her closely, trying to figure out exactly what her angle was. “Did you sabotage my building?”

“What?”

“You seemed to know that pipe would burst. How did you do it? Who are you working with? Russian mob, the Yakuza, my Dad?”

“Oh, a pipe burst?” The girl smirked. “I just saw that guy getting doused. I didn’t see how.”

“Right, enough of that.” Lucifer leaned in close, his dark eyes shimmering. “Let’s try this again in the light of day. What is it that you really desire?”

The girl sighed. “I told you last night. I wanted you to reject Noah’s favor, and you did. So, it’s my turn to pay up.” She went over to the cash register.

Lucifer was truly bewildered. “Hello? Is this thing still on?” He looked at himself before looking around the room. “You, server, come here.” He motioned to Trevor.

“Uh, I’m a smoothie artist.”

“No you’re not. Come here.” Trevor approached the counter and Lucifer leaned back in. “No one wants that insipid title. What is it that you truly desire?”

Trevor’s face went slack. “I, uh, I want to get a burger, the biggest, juiciest burger and sink my teeth into it, the rarer the better . . .”

“Right.” The Devil fished a twenty out of his jacket and slipped it into Trevor’s hand. “Off you go.”

Trevor didn’t have to be told twice. He pulled off his apron, hopped the counter, and was out the door. Lucifer turned his attention back to the girl. “Impressive,” she commented. “Here, this is a White Stilton Gold card for Goat Orchard. It’s cheese for life, and this is Chef Drexel’s personal cell number. Don’t tell him where you got it from.” She slid the items across the counter to Lucifer, but he didn’t accept right away.

“What are you?”

“The assistant manager of an organic bakery and smoothie franchise?”

“No, there’s something else.”

“Pot and kettle,” she scoffed.

“Excuse me?”

“Look at you, you pose as some millionaire playboy – “

“Thank you.”

“ – douchebag,” she finished and Lucifer scowled. “When we both know what you’re really hiding.”

Lucifer leaned against the counter and slowly folded his hands. “Go on. Say it.” She’d said it last night, but in the moment, he’d thought it was just a boast, a fool’s bravado. Lots of people called him the Devil without really knowing what they were saying.

The girl pulled herself away from her fusing with the napkin holder and looked directly at him. “You’re the Devil.” And she meant every word of it.

Lucifer took a calculated breath. Without breaking eye contact, he let his true eyes flash in. The girl swallowed hard, but she didn’t flinch. “And that doesn’t bother you?” the Devil asked.

“No.” The girl shook her head. “It is what it is.” She looked away finally, returning to her napkin holder and straw container.

Lucifer truly was dumbfounded. The last human he’d revealed his identity to had been struck mute for days, and he’d had a fairly good working relationship with her before that. He didn’t even know this girl. There was no way she could be this nonchalant about it.

“Are you a miracle?” he blurted out.

“What?” The girl looked more surprised at this than his flashing eyes.

“Did an angel arrange for your conception? Was he tall, darker skinned, chiseled jaw, just not as chiseled as mine?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Were you adopted? Left in a basket in a river?”

The girl laughed. “No.”

“Are you a Fate, or something like that?”

“I don’t control anyone’s fate,” the girl replied, and that seemed to touch a nerve. “I don’t make the things I see happen.”

“But you do see things before they happen?” the Devil pressed.

“Flashes, glimpses. Been this way since I was a kid,” she explained.

Lucifer pondered this for a moment. “That’s a handy gift,” he conceded. 

“Not sure it’s a gift.”

“Curse, what have you,” the Devil amended. “Funny how those two terms are interchangeable.” He collected the card and number from the counter. “Consider your favor granted. Pleasure doing business with you.” He turned to leave but stopped. He could walk out that door and never think of this girl again. He could chalk it up to chance or another, odd quirk in his Father’s ill-conceived master plan. But neither of those ideas set well with Lucifer.

“You’re not leaving.”

“No.” Lucifer turned back. “I showed you mine, so you show me yours.”

“What?”

“Your powers. Your gift, your curse, I want to see it again.”

“I showed you last night,” the girl protested.

“Yes, but I need to see it again.” He put his hands in his pockets and smiled. “Come on, make a believer of the Devil. Do it on the next person who walks in. You do get customers here, right?”

The girl sighed, and she sounded tired. “It doesn’t always work like that.”

“Try for me, then.”

The girl sighed again. At that moment, the bell on the door dinged and in walked another sandy blond-haired male. There was no shortage of them in this city. “Oh, sorry, are you in line?” the man asked Lucifer.

“No, you go ahead.” The Devil stepped back and shot the girl a devious smile.

She tried to ignore him. “Here to pick up your usual, Robert?”

“You know it.” 

The Devil watched, largely uninterested, as they completed their transaction. “Thanks, Faith.” Robert deposited his tip in the jar and left, bag in hand. 

The girl motioned for Lucifer to come over. “Bicycle and brown hair.” 

“What?”

“Bicycle and brown hair, in the next thirty seconds, maybe less.” She didn’t take her eyes off Robert. He had stopped just outside the door to check a text message. He wasn’t looking, and neither was the bicyclist as she came around the corner and almost collided with him.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” the cyclist exclaimed. “Are you all right?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m good,” Robert replied. She took off her helmet, which sent brown locks cascading down her back. 

Lucifer looked at the girl. “Well done.” 

She held her hand up to silence the Devil. “A field, wrinkled hands, happiness.”

“Is that what’s coming next?” Lucifer looked up in time to see Robert and the cyclist walk off together.

“I think it’s what’s coming in sixty years.” The girl’s voice was soft.

“Oh.” Then realization set in. “Ew.”

“You have something against happiness?”

“That sort of happiness, yes.” Lucifer watched her for a moment. “Did you really just see their future?”

“It could be their future. Might not be. Again, not a Fate.”

“But your name is Faith?” There was that elephant in the room they had yet to contend with.

The girl scowled. “Not by choice.”

“Yes, well I know something about hating your given moniker.” Lucifer straightened his cuffs and fiddled with his ring. “I appreciate the demonstration. Enjoy your breakup, Faith.” He started to leave again, but this time she stopped him.

“I could use another favor.”

Lucifer turned around. “So now we get to the heart of the matter. What more can the little prognosticator want?”

Faith fished out her phone and accessed her Facebook page. The Devil returned to her side at the counter. She was looking at pictures from last weekend’s cheese festival. Had she been there, too? Lucifer paused for a moment to wonder if he was being stalked, but he decided against it. She was hardly the stalker type. 

“This man here.” Faith pointed to a well-dressed gentleman in one of the pictures.

“Do you know him?” the Devil asked.

“No, but I think something bad is going to happen to him. When I was working at the festival, I got a glimpse of a room . . .”

“Oh, you were a waitress there. That makes so much sense.”

“Also, my boyfriend, or ex boyfriend’s parents own the farm. I can take that card back, you know?”

Lucifer touched his suit jacket pocket protectively. “A deal’s a deal.”

Faith pressed on. “I looked at him and I saw a room and there was blood everywhere.”

“His blood?”

“I think so.”

“Did you get a sense of when his grisly death was going to transpire?”

Faith cleared her throat in frustration. “No, and that’s why it’s a curse. Sometimes I know, like it’s going to be thirty seconds or a minute, but sometimes it’s just a vision with no timeline. And weeks go by, or years, before it happens. But I feel like this was a matter of days, if he’s not already dead.”

“Do you want me to go and check on him? I can, you know, for a price.”

Faith shook her head. “No. If you get a call tomorrow for that consulting detective thing you do, come and pick me up.”

“How do you know about that?”

Faith gave him an incredulous look and grabbed the nearest copy of the paper. “Your name is in the paper all the time, Detective Decker and her Civilian Partner Lucifer Morningstar.”

“I believe you left out charismatic.”

“If you get a call tomorrow morning, pick me up,” Faith reinforced.

“So, this is your new request?” Lucifer wanted to be sure he was clear about this.

“Yes, let me spend the day with you tomorrow.”

“What’s in it for the Devil?”

“I know I annoy you.”

He scoffed. “Most humans do.”

“But I also know you’re oddly fascinated with me.”

Lucifer wished he could deny it, but she’d gotten him there. “Rather like a pimple one would like to pop, yes.”

Faith folded her arms. “I promise, that at the end of the day, I’ll be out your life for good.”

Lucifer didn’t have to mull it over long. “Deal.”


	5. Faith’s List

Less than 24 hours later, Lucifer was back outside of Faith’s place of employment. Not surprisingly, she was waiting for him, looking rather pleased with herself. “Someone turn up dead?” she asked.

“People drop dead every day. We don’t know if it’s your chap yet or not.”

“But here you are.” Faith posted a note to the front door of the bakery and smoothie emporium and tugged the door to be sure it was locked.

“I am a devil of my word,” Lucifer commented as Faith approached the car. She was sporting yet another pair of holey jeans and a different plaid shirt. He turned up his nose. “Don’t you own any other clothes?”

“This is a nice ride,” Faith remarked.

“Yes, and now I have to be seen with you in it dressed like that,” the Devil pressed.

Faith opened the door and got in. “What can I say, you can take the girl out of Seattle, but you can’t take Seattle out of the girl.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Lucifer remarked. He looked at the shuttered door of the bakery. “Won’t you get in trouble for closing shop for the day to play detective? Where’s that coworker of yours, the bloke with the meat fetish?”

“Trevor? He’s got a bad case of food poisoning.” Faith fiddled with the dials and switches in the car, much to Lucifer’s chagrin. “I’ve been wanting to quit for a while anyhow. It was just a job.”

“Right.” Lucifer pulled away from the curb and punched the gas. “Let’s get this day over with, shall we?”

They drove in silence for a moment. The Devil was thoroughly annoyed. Faith was not annoyed. She seemed to be having a wonderful time. The wind was blowing in her hair, and she held her hand out and let it ride in the wind, a small smile constantly plastered to her face. Lucifer rolled his eyes.

“When did you discover these powers of yours?” he asked, because he was genuinely curious, even if he was annoyed.

“I wondered when you were going to ask.” Faith put her hand down and turned her attention to him. 

“I’ve found that on earth, conversation helps time move faster, no matter how banal.”

She chose to ignore his last comment. “I was eight. It was a night like any other. I was brushing my teeth, looking in the bathroom mirror, when I suddenly had this vision of our house on fire. I tried to get it out of my head, but I kept having it over and over. I couldn’t sleep. I found my mom and told her. She said I was crazy, told me to go back to bed. I ran out of the house, out onto the street, because I didn’t know what else to do. My mom came after me. She was so pissed. She picked me up and tried to carry me back inside when . . .” Faith took a breath. “When the hot water heater exploded, taking half of the house with it.”

Lucifer was silent for a moment. “The explosion part was exciting, but the rest was rather boring. You need to punch up your origin story a bit.”

Faith shook her head and gave a rueful laugh. “All right. How ‘bout the explosion also takes my father with it because he was a heavy sleeper? My mother becomes afraid of me, but not so afraid that she won’t exploit my newfound “gift.” She doesn’t take me to therapy, or to a bunch of doctors to scan my brain for abnormalities. No, she charges on a sliding scale for me to use my visions for anyone who stops by our new, spectacularly larger house. If I don’t have an actual vision for someone, she tells me to make one up. It gets to be normal, in a way, but then more and more people are coming, and the visions I’m having are getting worse and worse. I can only see the bad, when before it was a mix of both, the good and the bad. But then it’s all bad, so I contemplate taking a bunch of pills, but I decide to pack a bag instead. I run away and work hard to become someone else in this giant city.” She looked at Lucifer. “That any better?”

The Devil drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Honest emotions always made him squirrely. “It’d make for an exciting TV movie, yes.” Faith gave another rueful laugh and turned away. Lucifer continued to watch her. “But I am sorry, for how your parents treated you. That wasn’t right.”

Faith wiped at her cheeks, trying to disguise her tears. “Not my parents, just my mom.”

“You think your father would have protected you?”

Faith shrugged. “I don’t know. I deal with the future, not the past.”

“He named you Faith, didn’t he? That’s why you keep it, even though you despise it?”

Faith shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat. “It’s my middle name. My first name is Olivia, but he always called me Faith. After he died, my mom, who had always called me Livie before, started using it like a stage name.” Faith swallowed hard and picked at one of the holes in her jeans. “But I don’t despise it, not completely, because I have some great memories of my Dad calling me that.”

“Livie is far worse, yes,” Lucifer agreed.

Faith laughed for real this time. “Are you always like this?”

“Terribly charming?”

“No, so defensive.”

“I am not defensive.”

“Dude, you have so many walls up, your walls have walls.”

Lucifer regarded her for a moment. “I have a therapist for that sort of thing, thank you very much, I don’t need your insight. You can’t even purchase a complete pair of jeans.” 

“Defensive,” Faith commented softly.

“Of all my favors, this falls under my top five regrets.” Lucifer turned the radio on. “But nothing says I have to keep talking to you.”

“Suit yourself.” Faith pulled a piece of folded paper out of her pocket. She took great care in examining it. Despite his annoyance, Lucifer really wanted to know what it said. At the third red light that stopped them, he seemed to be catching them all this morning, he finally took it from her.

“Rude,” Faith remarked.

“Solve a murder, free play at the arcade on the pier, eat all 27 flavors at once, the spot,” the Devil read. “What on earth is this?”

Faith took the piece of paper back from him. “This is my list for the day.”

“Oh no, we are not doing your list. You’re spending the day with me. We’re doing what I’m doing.”

Faith looked at her list again. “Lucky for us, number one is on your agenda, too.”

“And what’s the spot? Is it a place, is it a spot on a person, inside a person?” He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. “I hope you’re not referring to your spot.”

Faith re-pocketed her list. “Listen, I’m going to come clean with you, this is my bucket list.”

“There were no buckets on that list.”

“My list of things I want to do before I die,” Faith rephrased. How could the Devil be so thick sometimes? “I’m dying.”

“What?” Lucifer gave her his full attention once more. “Have you got cancer or something? Oh no, this isn’t a make a wish sort of thing, is it?”

“No,” Faith scoffed. “I just, I looked in the mirror recently and had a vision.”

“Of your impending doom?”

Faith took a deep breath. “I saw numbers, like two eights and then nothing.”

Lucifer waited for what came next. “What? That’s it? That’s your grand, vision of death?”

Faith contemplated throttling him, even if it would shortchange her list. “Should I have added in some explosions?”

“Yes. A tiger, an armed robber, anything.”

“The nothing felt finite, like the last period at the end of a book. I couldn’t see anything after that,” Faith explained. 

Lucifer had to hand it to her, she did seem remarkably calm when talking about her impending death. “Does it scare you?”

Faith considered it for a moment. “A little, but then I look at my list and I feel better.” She touched her pocket where the list was safely tucked away.

“Again, with the list. If that really is your bucket list, as you say, I suggest you add a good shag, or go streaking through the park, something like that.”

“I only have one day,” Faith protested. “I have to keep it somewhat achievable.”

Realization dawned on the Devil. “At the end of the day, I’ll be out of your life for good.” He looked at her. “You’ll be out of life in general, is what you meant.”

“Yep.”

“That explains the shedding of the boyfriend, the quitting of the job. You’re preparing the burial shroud. Consider me interested again.” Lucifer smiled. “I do enjoy final wishes, last rites, that kind of thing.”

“See, I knew you were the guy to go to, or deity.”

“Devil,” he added.

They stopped at another traffic light. “You’re the Lord of Hell, and you can’t do anything about all these red lights?”

“I don’t have infinite powers. I’m not my Dad, and even He isn’t concerned with this sort of thing.”

Faith sighed in exasperation. “I want to get to the police station. I’ve always wondered what it’d be like if I’d used my visions to help people instead of profit off them.”

“I can get you in the door, but it’ll take a little persuasion with Chief Monroe to get you on the case,” the Devil explained.

“I can help with that,” Faith assured.

Lucifer was aghast. “I don’t need any help with that, thank you very much. When it comes to persuasion, I work alone.”

Faith smiled at him. “By the end of this, we’re going to be great partners. See, it’s on my list.”

She showed him the piece of paper again. It did have a hastily scrawled new addition. 

“What, how did you add that to the list?!”


	6. The Bigger the Yacht the Further You Can Stretch the Truth

“And you’re sure you saw a boat?” Lucifer asked. His finger hovered over his phone’s screen, waiting to send the text he’d just typed out.

“Positive,” Faith replied. “I definitely saw water.”

The Devil sent his text. “Well, let’s hope it was the ocean and not the bath.”

“I can tell the difference between the vastness of the ocean and a tub,” Faith remarked.

Lucifer’s phone chimed. He examined the new text. “Excellent. My preferred yacht is available this weekend. Let’s test your latest vision.” He pocketed his phone. “Not that I need your help in convincing the Chief to let you on the case. I can be very persuasive,” Lucifer purred.

“Just proving my worth,” Faith assured. “Partner,” she added. 

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Never say that again.” He turned and opened the Chief’s door, a devilish smile plastered across his face. “Chief, may I have a word?”

Detective Decker was watching the scene from across the room. Who was this girl who’d shown up with Lucifer? The last time he’d shown up with some random woman, they’d been married. But he hadn’t ghosted the Detective this time, and this girl was certainly no Candy Morningstar, so Chloe didn’t think she had to worry about another, surprise elopement.

“Dan.” Chloe stopped her ex-husband as he passed by. “Who’s the girl that came in with Lucifer?” She indicated the girl fidgeting outside the Chief’s office.

Detective Espinoza shrugged. “I don’t know. I’d say Lucifer picked up a tag along from his 90s party, but that got canceled.”

“The 90s party was canceled?” Chloe sounded surprised.

“Yeah. Did you not know that?”

“No.”

“Major plumbing issues at Lux, the whole place is shut down,” Dan explained. “Shame, I was looking forward to that one. The 50s night was a lot of fun.”

“You went to one of Lucifer’s parties?” Now Chloe sounded shocked.

“Listen, the guy may be an ass, but it’s a nice club, and you know how I feel about the 50s – and Grease.”

Chloe laughed. “Oh, your secret obsession with Danny Zuko.”

“I looked good,” Dan defended. “I need to post those pictures.” He fished for his phone to show her one.

“Very Grease Lightning,” she commented.

“It was a great night. I did this milkshake shot off of . . .” Dan noticed her face. “Never mind. But I was really looking forward to that 90s night. I figured you’d be there.”

“I was busy,” Chloe hurried to explain.

“I can’t believe you didn’t know Lux is closed. Don’t you follow Lucifer on Facebook?”

“No. Why would I do that?”

“Yeah, his posts are mostly half naked women,” Dan surmised. “But Lucifer’s meme game is on point.” At that moment, his phone rang. 

“Is it Trixie’s school?” Chloe asked.

“No, it’s my mom.” 

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Dan answered his phone and stepped away. Detective Decker turned her attention back to the girl outside the Chief’s office. She was now fumbling with the water cooler. She was endearingly awkward, in a way. 

Lucifer stepped out of the Chief’s office. “It’s a date, then. Thank you so much.” He closed the door and looked at Faith.

“I’m on the case?”

“Yes.”

Faith took a moment to celebrate. 

“You can stop that now,” Lucifer instructed. “Your ‘vision’ was right. Chief Monroe had planned on going to a yacht party this weekend, but her friend’s yacht was impounded. Fortunately, I have one available.”

“Told you it was the ocean,” the girl gloated. Lucifer chose to ignore her and straightened his cuffs instead.

Chief Monroe stepped out of her office and gave Lucifer a little, dirty smile before stepping into the middle of the precinct’s main gathering space. “Alright, listen up. Decker, Espinoza, Morningstar, and guest I need to see you in my office.”

“Guest?” Faith looked at Lucifer. “I don’t get a cool title, or like my own name or anything?”

“Must of left that part out.”

“Good morning, Lucifer.” Chloe spoke as she joined them.

“Good morning, Detective.”

“Who’s your guest here?” She looked at Faith, who was just about to hold out her hand and introduce herself.

Surprisingly, Lucifer put his arm around her shoulders and gave Faith a squeeze. “This is Faith. It’s Bring a Troubled Youth to Work Day.”

“I don’t think that’s a thing.”

“No, I’m quite sure it is, Detective.”

“Okay.” Chloe nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Faith.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Faith struggled to reply. Lucifer was still holding her shoulders a little tight.

Chloe stepped into the Chief’s office, even more confused. The others followed. 

“What’s up, Chief?” Espinoza wanted to know.

“The case you’re going out on involves a rather high-profile figure, very important to the medical community. It’s imperative to his foundation that we keep things discreet,” Chief Monroe explained.

“Discreet.” Chloe looked at Lucifer and Faith. “I’m sorry. Not to question your motives or anything, Chief, but maybe this isn’t the case to use our civilian consultant – s on?”  
Chief Monroe shook that thought away with the wave of her hand. “It’s Bring a Troubled Youth to Work Day, Decker. Mr. Morningstar is a mentor.”

“That’s how you sold it the Chief?” Faith hissed in Lucifer’s ear.

“You’re on the case, aren’t you?” he hissed back.

“Thanks to a lie.”

“Not a lie,” Lucifer corrected. “Not quite.”

“Lopez is already on the scene,” Chief Monroe continued. “Here are the specifics.” She presented Decker with the case folder. “Again, discretion is paramount.”

Chloe hazarded a look at Lucifer. He gave her a beaming smile in return. “Got it, Chief,” she assured.

“Get on it, Detectives.” The Chief ushered them out of her office. “I’ll see you later,” she mouthed to Lucifer as he passed.

“I need to run an errand for my mom real quick. I’ll meet you there,” Dan told Chloe.

“Okay.” Chloe turned to see Lucifer standing beside her, ready as always. “Oh, Lucifer, I’m sorry about your club. Dan said it was your pipes or something?”

The Devil shrugged it off. “Something like that. I left a small battalion of hard hatted men at the club, and it wasn’t even Village People night.”

“You didn’t get to finish your decades escapade. You going to reschedule the last night, or . . .?” Chloe wasn’t exactly sure what she was asking here.

“I was thinking about it, yes. Is any night better for you, or . . .?” Lucifer wasn’t sure what he was asking, either. Faith watched them awkwardly dance around one another.

“Oh, no, you know I don’t come out for that kind of thing.”

Lucifer hurried to mask his disappointment. “Right, of course. I was asking because the 90s were an average decade, and you’re an average sort of person, so you’d know what night was better for rescheduling.”

Chloe swallowed and turned her attention to Faith. “It’s Faith, right?”

“Yes.” The girl nodded.

“Great.” Chloe swallowed again. “I’m gonna get the car keys.”

When Detective Decker walked away, Faith laughed. “Wow.”

“What?” the Devil wanted to know.

“You have such a massive boner for her.”

“I’m not disputing the size of my ‘boner,’ as you so eloquently put it, but I don’t think that’s all together appropriate,” Lucifer chastised.

“I meant your heart, dude,” Faith amended. “You have a massive heart boner for her.”

“I do not.” The Devil was aghast.

Chloe returned with the keys. “We ready to go?”

Faith giggled a little as she looked between Chloe and the Devil. Lucifer made an executive decision. “Faith and I will take my car.”

“We can all three go together. It’ll give me a chance to get to know Faith.”

“No, trust me, separate is better,” Lucifer assured her.

“Okay.” Chloe was beyond trying to figure Lucifer out. “I’ll text you the address.” She turned and walked away.

“Smooth,” Faith remarked.

“You are obviously throwing off my mojo. I’m not used to worrying about another person hanging around,” the Devil explained. “This is why I don’t have children. Rosemary’s Baby is a complete work of fiction.”

“Let’s get cracking – partner.” Faith was all too pleased with herself.

“Ugh. You are insufferable.” Lucifer looked around the station. He stopped the nearest cop walking by. “You, are you off on some police related business?”

“Uh, donut run,” the officer replied.

“Right. Can you drop this young lady off at this address?” Lucifer showed the man his phone. 

“That’s out of my way.”

Lucifer fished in his jacket pocket and produced a wad of cash. “How far out of the way, exactly?” He handed the man a stack of bills. 

“Not out of the way at all,” the officer amended.

“Lovely.” He pushed Faith toward the officer. “See you at the crime scene.”

“Hey, that wasn’t part of the deal,” the girl argued.

“No part of the deal said I have to spend every moment with you.” Lucifer reminded her. “See you there, my troubled youth.” The Devil walked off with a skip in his step.

The officer looked at Faith. “Do you like donuts?”

“Yeah,” she conceded. “Okay.”


	7. Three Detectives Walk onto a Crime Scene

“What have we got, Ella?” Detective Decker asked as she examined the body on the floor.

“Meet Dr. Angelo Levasky, 63 years old, pretty well off.” The forensic scientist gestured to the swanky digs they were currently standing in. “The poor doctor was strangled by piano wire. Sucky way to go.”

“That’s a terrible use of a piano wire,” Lucifer added. “Who would do that to a piano?”

“You mean who would do this to a person?” Chloe corrected.

“From the cuts on his hands, it looks like he did try to defend himself, but this method is pretty effective, so, here he lies,” Ella concluded. 

“Lots of mob bosses use this type of assassination technique to send a message. Did Mr. Levasky have any connections or dealings with the mob?” Detective Decker wondered aloud.

“I can assure you he did not,” a voice to their right issued. The man standing there was impeccably dressed, almost as impeccably dressed as Lucifer. “Ron Mitchell, President of the Levasky Foundation.”

“Did you find Dr. Levasky, Mr. Mitchell?” Detective Decker asked.

“No. His wife called me, right after she called the police.”

“Speed dial number two, are you?” Lucifer quipped.

“I assure you, Detective, Dr. Levasky was the most honest man I’ve ever met in my life. He lived to help others. He would have never been involved with the mob.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.”

Faith stepped into the room and stopped. “Whoa,” she gasped at the site of the body.

“Oh, Faith, good of you to join us. Did you bring the donuts?” Lucifer asked.

“Lucifer,” Chloe chided. She approached the younger woman. “Are you all right?”

Faith shook her head and refocused her attention. “Uh, yeah, it’s not the first dead body I’ve seen. It’s just, a lot of blood.”

“Oh, yeah, piano wire will do that,” Ella commented. “Have we met?” she asked the new face.

“No. I’m Faith. I’m with Lucifer.”

“Mentorship,” the Devil clarified.

“Oh, that’s awesome.” Ella walked over to her. “I’m a hugger.” She wrapped her arms around Faith, keeping her gloved hands awkwardly extended. “I’ll give you a better one later, when I ditch the bloody gloves.”

“I’m sorry.” Ron was confused. “Are all three of you detectives? Because you’re not dressed at all like I thought you’d be.”

“She’s a detective. I’m a civilian consultant, and this is the troubled youth I’m mentoring,” Lucifer explained.

“I’m not troubled,” Faith protested.

“I’m going to call the precinct.” Ron started to go, but Chloe stopped him.

“I know we seem a little unorthodox, Mr. Mitchell, but I assure you, we have the highest solve rate in the entire department. And we will be very discreet,” she assured him.

Lucifer played his way down the grand piano in the room. “Lucifer!” Chloe snapped.

“The piano wire didn’t come from this piano, Detective.”

“Oh no, this place is spotless,” Ella assured. “My crew’s been all over, nothing was taken or disturbed. Whoever did this was a professional.”

“Which doesn’t help with your non-mob theory,” Lucifer pointed out to Ron.

“It wasn’t the mob!” the other man snapped.

“Mr. Mitchell, how about you wait with Mrs. Levasky? We’ll come and question you in a moment.” Chloe encouraged the foundation president out of the room.

Lucifer joined Faith, who was standing by the victim’s side. “Is it like in your vision?” he asked her in a low voice.

“Yeah, same guy, same blood, same marble floor.”

“Faux marble,” the Devil amended.

Faith took in a shaky breath. Lucifer watched her a little closer. “You didn’t kill him, you know?”

“I know,” she replied. “Never makes it any easier.”

“Got anything else for me, Ella?” the Detective asked.

“Not much. Baddie really cleaned up after himself, or herself. Only other thing is this mass here, on Dr. Levasky’s side.” She pointed to where the doctor’s shirt had ridden up. There was a discernible mass under the skin.

“What is that?”

“I’m no doctor, but it looks like a tumor to me.”

“We’ll ask if he was sick.”

“He was sick,” Ella replied. “He had cancer, did chemo, radiation, all of that. Then he changed his lifestyle, eating habits, and boom, cancer gone. He made his whole career off his program.” She indicated the bookshelves around them.

Lucifer pulled a book from a shelf. “Change Your Life, Cure the Disease: My Victory Over Death. What an insipid title,” the Devil commented. “And obviously not correct.” He gestured to the body on the floor.

“A Beautiful Union: When Science and Alternative Medicine Meet,” Faith read the next title. “He’s written a lot of these.”

“I can’t believe this,” Lucifer stated.

“What?” Chloe asked.

“I can’t believe someone with this much money living in LA didn’t come and ask me for a favor. I mean, this is a terrible cover shot.” He showed them the book in his hands with a very glossy profile picture on the cover. “I could have fixed this for him.”

“Maybe he was asking his favors from someone else?” Detective Decker wondered.

The three “detectives” left Ella with the body and joined Mrs. Levasky and Ron in the other room. “Who could have done this to my Angelo?” the grieving widow wanted to know.

“We’re very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Levasky. We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Chloe assured, “but we do have some questions for you.”

The woman wiped at her eyes and nodded. “I heard about some of your questions, and Angelo had nothing to do with the mob. He was a good man, the best.”

“Do you know anyone he might have angered recently?” the Detective pressed.

“No, no one,” his wife insisted. “His life was helping people.”

“Where were you last night when the murder occurred?”

“I was out of town at a spa with my sister. It was a birthday present from my – husband.” Ron put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze.

“There’s no sign or robbery, Mrs. Levasky. That suggests this was personal. Is there really no one who would have a grievance with your husband?”

She shook her head again. “Angelo was his work. His practice, his foundation, our home, that was his whole world.”

“And cheese festivals,” Lucifer added, and they all looked at him. “Were you or were you not at the Goat Orchard cheese festival?”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“I don’t know.” He looked at Faith. “What does it have to do with anything?” She looked as confused as he did.

“Mrs. Levasky, was your husband sick?” Chloe continued.

“No, he was very healthy.”

“You hadn’t seen any signs that his cancer had returned?”

“No. Angelo was in remission. He’s been in remission for years now.”

Ron held up his hand. “Dr. Levasky’s entire career is built on his very successful cure method. What you’re saying is slander.”

“At the cheese festival, he was sitting down,” Faith spoke up.

“What?” Mrs. Levasky turned her attention to the younger woman.

“I was a waiter there, and I saw you all. He was sitting down most of the time, and you were bringing him cheese, but he didn’t eat much.”

“You are supposed to savor it,” Lucifer countered.

Realization dawned on Mrs. Levasky’s face. “You’re right, and he’s been sending me on all these trips lately. I thought he felt guilty about working so much, but . . .”

“Cheese festival, I told you,” Lucifer announced. 

Mrs. Levasky turned to Ron. “What if his cancer had come back?”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Linda.” Ron was already in damage control mode.

“Did your husband still practice, Mrs. Levasky?” Chloe asked.

“Yes.”

“Linda, you don’t have to answer any more questions,” Ron hurried to shush her. His phone rang. “Damnit, I have to take this.” The man answered his phone and stepped away, leaving the widow with little comfort. 

“Let’s see if any of his patients suspected the doctor’s cure wasn’t so full proof,” the Detective spoke to Lucifer.

“Oh, you think someone caught the snake oil salesman at his game?”

“Why wouldn’t he tell me?” Mrs. Levasky wondered, her voice full of despair.

“Because it’s never easy to talk about death, even to the people we love the most,” Faith told her.

“Mrs. Levasky, we’ll need access to your husband’s files, his email,” the Detective informed her.

“Whatever you need,” the widow replied. “Just find who did this to my Angelo.”

“We will,” Faith assured her. She reached out and put a comforting hand on Mrs. Levasky’s arm.

Chloe watched Faith closely. “Lucifer,” she spoke softly. “How ‘bout you take your partner back to the station?”

“You want to go back to the station?” The Devil was confused.

“Not me, Faith.”

Lucifer looked disgusted. “She’s not my partner, Detective, you are.”

“Yeah, well, you’re responsible for her today, and I think she’s been here long enough. I’ll meet you back at the station.”

“Fine,” Lucifer scoffed. “Come along, troubled youth.” He took Faith by the arm and led her to the door.

“Where are we going?” she wanted to know. “We haven’t solved the murder yet.”

“That’s not how it works. It takes time.”

“I don’t have a lot of that,” Faith protested as they left the house.

“Yes, well, I’m not really thrilled about this situation either, but here we are,” Lucifer surmised. “Now get in the car.”

“The other officer’s car had donuts,” Faith pointed out.

“We’re not stopping for donuts.” Lucifer looked up to see Faith pulling her list out of her pants. “Oh no, you’re not adding anything else to your infernal list.” He snatched it out of her hands and tucked it away in his jacket.

“You keep the list, then you assume responsibility for everything that’s on it,” Faith enforced.

“I most certainly do not.”

Chloe was leaving the house to get something form her car. “Detective Decker, Lucifer has something to tell you!” Faith called out.

The Devil’s chin almost hit the ground. “What is it, Lucifer?” Chloe paused to ask.

Faith never took her eyes off the celestial being standing before her. “He wants to know . . .”

“What kind of donut is your favorite?” Lucifer spoke over the girl. “Faith and I are picking up donuts on our way back to the station.”

“Bear claws, I guess.”

“Right. Bear claws.” Lucifer nodded and got in his car. Faith followed him. Chloe shook her head and returned to the scene.

“You’ll help me complete my list, all of it?” Faith wanted to know.

“Fine,” Lucifer growled in response.

“So, that’s a deal, or . . .?”

“I said fine!” The Devil threw the car into gear and sped off – in search of the nearest donut establishment.


	8. Book the Trip

“So, who do you think did it?” Faith asked around the chunk of donut in her mouth.

“Did what?” Lucifer replied. “Oh, right, the grisly murder. Probably the wife. Not sure I believed her whole, grieving widow schtick.” The Devil leaned over the open pastry box so as not to drop any crumbs on his suit. “These are the best donuts in Los Angeles. How did I not know about this?”

“I used to work at DiMarco’s, bounced around a lot when I first got to the city,” Faith explained. “And the wife didn’t do it. She was pretty devastated.”

“The suit, then,” Lucifer countered. “Board presidents and members are the killers, nine times out of ten. Why are you asking me, anyhow? Didn’t you get a vision?”

Faith shook her head. “Nope.”

The Devil was a little perturbed. “Isn’t that the whole point of you coming along?”

“I told you it doesn’t happen on command. Why didn’t you do your little thing?” Faith turned it back on him.

“My thing is not little,” Lucifer defended. “And if I used my influence on everyone, there’d be no thrill of the chase.”

“All right then.” Faith took an angry bite of her donut.

“All right,” Lucifer huffed. They ate in silence for a moment. “Do you ever try, though, just for fun? Take a little looksie at a random passerby?”

“Not in a long time,” Faith replied.

“Can you see my future?” Lucifer pressed.

“Uh, I don’t think I’d want to.”

“But can you?” He leaned forward in his chair.

Faith eyed him for a moment as she finished her donut. “No.”

Lucifer looked mildly disappointed. “Of course, you can’t, I’m a celestial being. Not your fault I have the advantage.” She chose to ignore him. “What about him?” Lucifer pointed at a desk sergeant walking by. “Or her?” he pointed at another employee. Detective Espinoza entered the room and Lucifer’s eyes lit up. “Oh, what about Detective Douche? I’d love to know what his sad, pathetic future looks like.”

“No!” Faith finally snapped. “I told you I don’t do that anymore! Not since . . .”

“Since you escaped your mother,” Lucifer finished for her. Faith was silent. “I won’t ask you again,” the Devil promised.

“Okay.” Faith took a breath.

“No way, you all got DiMarco’s?” Dan hurried over to the desk once he saw the box between them. “These are way better then what Ken brought in earlier.”

“Not the bear claw.” Lucifer stopped Dan from grabbing the largest donut in the box. “That’s for the Detective.”

“Chloe doesn’t like bear claws,” Dan replied, but he selected a powdered donut instead.

Lucifer scoffed. “I heard it from her own ear’s. Sorry if you never listened to her, that’s probably why your marriage fell apart.”

Dan eyed him. “Okay, but I know I’m right.”

Detective Decker entered the room and walked over to join them. Lucifer sat up straight in his chair. “Detective, I got you your bear claw.”

Chloe paused for a moment. “I don’t like bear claws.”

The Devil was crestfallen. “But you said . . .”

The Detective remembered their last conversation. “Oh, right. I asked you to get that for Trixie. She loves bear claws. I’ll take it to her later.”

“Trixie loves bear claws,” Dan mouthed to Lucifer, unable to contain his smile.

“Thanks, Lucifer.” The Detective turned her attention back to the case file in her hands.

“Trixie, but I got this for you,” Lucifer whispered.

“Ouch.” Faith winced. “Swing and a miss.” The Devil sneered at her.

“Hey, Chloe.” Dan stepped aside to get closer to his ex-wife. “I picked something up for you on the way back to the precinct.”

“Oh, Dan, how’s your mom?” Chloe looked up. She had not heard a word he’d said.

“My mom?” Right, his mom had called earlier. “She’s fine, she’s just been working on her will. Wanted to know what I wanted; what Trixie wanted. I don’t know, it’s weird, to think about my mom dying. I mean, we have wills and everything, because our jobs are dangerous, but this is my mom, kind of thought she’d always be around.” Dan paused and looked at her. “But I don’t need to explain this to you.”

“Dan, I get it,” Chloe assured him. “Facing your parents’ mortality is always weird.”

“Right, so after I talked her out of leaving Trixie her porcelain cat collection, which you’re welcome for.”

“Thank you.” Chloe was truly grateful. That collection was hideous, and her apartment was small.

“I looked at the case file,” Dan continued, “and I brought you cypher321.”

Lucifer was suddenly by their side. “Nice to see you two acting all chummy. Who’s cypher321?”

Chloe’s eyes lit up. “Cypher321, who wrote the threatening emails to Dr. Levasky. We found them on his computer.”

“Yep, her real name is Dr. Rachel Berkin, and she agreed to come in for questioning.” Dan pointed to the interrogation room.

Lucifer extended his arm to Chloe. “After you, partner.” Awkwardly, both she and Faith moved at the same time. The Devil glared at the younger girl.

“How ‘bout, the real detective goes first?” Chloe took a step around them and led the way.

“Sorry,” Faith whispered to Lucifer. “I’m just excited to get the case back on track.”

Dr. Berkin was a wisp of a woman, but she gave the impression of being a formidable wisp. A colorful scarf was tied around her head. It matched the rest of her colorful ensemble. Detective Decker took the first seat. “Thank you for coming in, Dr. Berkin.”

Lucifer and Faith eyed the other seat, and in a move that would put any musical chairs champ to shame, they both rushed for it. “I get the seat,” Lucifer hissed at her.

“I’m the guest,” Faith retaliated.

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Excuse me.” She turned from Dr. Berkin to her cohorts. “Lucifer, go and get another chair.”

“No, we’re fine, Detective.” He attempted to smile. They really weren’t fine. They were both perched precariously on either end of the small, metal seat. The Devil smiled again and leaned back a little, causing Faith to elbow him in the side. “Watch it,” he whispered to her.

“Why are your hips so boney?” she retorted.

Chloe took a deep breath and turned her attention back to the doctor before them. “So, Dr. Levasky was a peer of yours?”

“Not sure I would use the term peer. We know each other and one another’s work, yes.”

“And you took objection with his work, right?” Chloe flipped through the case file. “You are the Dr. Berkin that publicly denounced his first three books, correct?”

Lucifer looked over at the file. “Dr. Levasky’s work threatens to set the practice of medicine back to the Stone Age. He is a dangerous man, and a traitor to the field,” he read. “And in the Los Angeles Times, nonetheless.”

“I was pretty vocal about not liking his theories,” Dr. Berkin explained. “But I’m not the only doctor who has a problem with Angelo’s work.”

“But you’re the only one who sent him threatening emails.” Chloe held up the screenshot to show her.

Realization set in and the doctor hung her head for a moment. “Angelo’s dead, isn’t he? And it wasn’t the cancer that got him, was it?”

“Met with the wrong end of some piano wire, I’m afraid,” Lucifer retorted.

“So, his cancer had come back?” Chloe asked.

“Yes, it had come back in a bad way, as has mine.” She pointed to the scarf on her head. “Angelo and I did not agree on a lot of things, I admit that. I’m an oncologist, so is he, or he was, anyhow. When he published that first study, it flew in the face of everything I believed. It turned cancer research on its head, cost me some of my funding.”

“So, you strangled him?” Lucifer wanted to know. 

“She doesn’t look like she could strangle anything,” Faith remarked.

“You’d be surprised.”

“No,” Dr. Berkin insisted. “I trashed his books, yes, but then I got cancer myself, and I tried every treatment, but the chemo was only making me worse. So, I tried Dr. Levasky’s methods, and for whatever reason they worked. I apologized to him in private.”

“But not publicly?” Chloe pressed.

“You still had your reputation to uphold, didn’t you, Doctor?” Lucifer quipped.

“I have my pride, yes, but so did Angelo. When my cancer came back, I was mad. He said all his patients were in remission, never had a relapse. So, imagine my surprise, when I saw him at my last chemo session.”

“Because his cancer had come back, too?” Chloe supplied for her.

Dr. Berkin took a breath. “He couldn’t even look me in the eyes. So, I went home, and I sent those emails, but I knew I shouldn’t have. I didn’t really want him to die.”

“I don’t think she’s the murderer,” Faith whispered to Lucifer. “Ask her if she’s planning on a trip.”

“What?” 

“Ask her if she’s planning on a trip. Do your thing.”

“Fine.” Lucifer sighed. He leaned across the table and looked the doctor right in her eyes. “Dr. Berkin, you seem like a woman who’s short on time with a rather large vendetta. Tell me, what is it you truly desire?”

The doctor stared back at him. “I – I want to go Aruba.” She took a breath. “I was just about to book a trip, when I got sick again. Which is the cruel irony of all this, because I was thinking about taking a trip the first time I got sick. Guess it’s a sign I’m not going anywhere, besides the hospital.” She gave a rueful laugh. “Or hospice. Do you know that the survival rate is for the second round of ovarian cancer?”

“Not good,” Lucifer commented softly.

“No, not good.”

“Is there anyone who can vouch for your whereabouts last night, Dr. Berkin?” Detective Decker asked.

“Yeah, my psychiatrist. I’m on the phone with her pretty late most nights.”

“Okay, we’ll check with her.” Chloe closed the case file. She got up to leave. Lucifer followed suit.

Faith reached across the table and lightly touched the doctor’s hand. “Book the trip for a year out. Trust me.” She gave the doctor’s hand a little squeeze before standing up.

The three of them left the room. “So, where does that leave us?” Faith asked once they were on the other side.

“Without a lead right now,” Chloe sighed. “We’ll look into Levasky’s other patients, see if any of them knew what Dr. Berkin did.”

“That our victim was trying to pass off a placebo as a miracle cure?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Chloe tucked the case file under her arm. “I’ll call you when I need you, Lucifer.”

“Looking forward to it, Detective, like always.” He smiled at her. She halfheartedly returned it before walking away.

“Why don’t you just tell her?” Faith wanted to know.

“Tell her what?”

“That you love her, like love her.”

“Ugh, don’t be crass. You saw something in that room, didn’t you, with the doctor?”

“Yeah, I saw her having a hell of a good time somewhere sunny,” Faith divulged. “It was nice.”

“Hell is hot, but it’s not nice.”

“You know what I mean.” She looked around the station. “What do we do now?”

“I go about my day, and you go about yours.” Lucifer took out his phone. “Give me your number, and I’ll call you when we have another lead.”

“Yeah, I turned my phone off, that whole tying up loose ends thing,” Faith confessed

“Are you serious?”

“Yep. So, if you’re going to keep your end of the deal, you’re going to have to keep me around a little longer.” Faith shrugged. 

“Great. What am I supposed to do now?” the Devil wanted to know.

“If only there was a list that had ideas on it?” Faith gave him a pointed look.

Lucifer sighed and removed the list from his jacket. Faith reached over and pointed to number two. “Free play at the pier,” he read and gave her a look. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes.” She smiled.


	9. Forty Whacks with the Devil

Faith turned the entire contents of her wallet out on the counter. “One free play pass, please.”

“Finally going for the pass, Faith?” The cashier, who was somewhere between his third and fourth mid life crises, asked her. 

“Yep. Figured there was no time like the present.”

“You’re, uh, friend here want to play, too?” He gestured to Lucifer.

“Absolutely not. I am here under duress,” the Devil replied.

“Whatever.” The cashier went back to counting the money. “Let’s see if you’ve got enough this time.”

Faith looked a little insulted. “I’ve got the money, Gerald, I promise.”

“Hold on, how much does this ‘pass’ cost?” Lucifer stepped up.

“$200,” Faith and Gerald spoke at the same time.

“$200 to play these rinky-dink games?” Lucifer looked around the room, trying to fathom why on earth anyone would spend their money on this.

“It’s good for a week,” Gerald argued.

“That’s even less incentive for you.” Lucifer looked at Faith. 

The girl bit her bottom lip and pulled the Devil away from the counter. “Listen, I know I could feed quarters into the machines, but that would take too long. This is the most immediate bang for my buck. And it’s my list,” the girl enforced. “I don’t need your judgement.”

Lucifer took a breath and stepped back up to the counter. He fished his wallet out. “I assume you all take cards? Visa, Discover, MasterCard, Amex,Dubai First Royale?” The Devil flipped through his wallet.

Gerald was confused. “Uh, we take most of those.”

“Lovely.” Lucifer selected a card and handed it over. “Make it two passes, shopkeep.”

“Wow. I’ve never seen a titanium level card.” Gerald marveled at the flashy card in his hand. 

“What are you doing?” Faith wanted to know.

“Helping you with your list, like you wanted.”

“I don’t need your charity.”

The Devil turned on her. “It’s not charity. I don’t do charity. If it makes you feel any better, you can owe me later.”

Faith sucked on her teeth, but she pulled her money off the counter and stuffed it back in her pockets. “This is gonna bite me in the ass, isn’t it?”

Lucifer laughed. “Have a little faith, Faith. This could work out even better than you’d planned.”

“Here’s your two passes.” Gerald returned Lucifer’s credit card and handed them two, simple pieces of plastic. They looked like non-descript hotel keys. “Swipe those at any of the machines. They’re good for the next week, but you have to cash in your tickets at the end of every day. Tickets cannot be carried over.”

“Tickets?” The Devil was confused.

“Yeah, the games give you tickets, and you trade those tickets in for prizes.” Faith indicated the wall of prizes behind Gerald.

“Those are prizes?”

“No, they’re mostly crap,” Faith replied.

“Uh, no,” Gerald argued. “The top shelf is not crap.”

“Yeah, but no one can get those things, Gerald.”

Lucifer looked up at the top shelf. There was a nice guitar up there and a decent gaming system. There was also a sign for The Ultimate Mystery Prize, which was worth 10,000 tickets. “What’s the mystery prize?” he asked.

Gerald shrugged. “Don’t know, it’s a mystery.”

“It’s also 10,000 tickets, so no one will ever know,” Faith commented.

Lucifer’s eyes lit up. “That sounds like a challenge.”

Two minutes later, Lucifer was watching Faith play ski ball. “What game here produces the most tickets?” the Devil wanted to know. “We need to maximize our earnings.”

“Uh, they pretty much give the same amount of tickets. But if you do better at the game, you get more tickets.” 

He watched her for another moment. “What’s the point of this game?”

“To get the ball in the holes at the top of the ramp. The smaller the hole, the larger the points,” Faith explained. Her last roll scored 1,000 points, and she celebrated her victory. 

“I can do that.” Lucifer swiped his card at the game next to her. Faith laughed. “What’s so humorous?”

“Life. Never thought I’d be playing ski ball with the Devil, but here I am.”

“That makes two of us.” Lucifer picked up a ball and sent it up the ramp. It landed in the bottom hole, netting no points. The next two balls didn’t fare any better.

“You kind of suck at this,” Faith observed. “I thought you’d be better.”

“I just need to get the hang of it!” Lucifer snapped. 

But five balls in, and he still wasn’t getting the hang of it. “You have to roll it harder,” Faith advised.

Lucifer huffed and sent the next ball up the ramp with so much force that it hopped the cage at the top and dealt a hefty blow to the scoreboard. “I didn’t mean unleash your god like superpowers,” she cautioned. Gerald looked up from his counter. “We’re fine,” Faith assured him with a wave.

Lucifer huffed again. “You don’t need to bring my Father into this.”

“How about a happy medium, somewhere between the strength of an average ten-year-old and Hercules?” Faith suggested. 

Lucifer halfheartedly rolled the last ball. It garnered ten points at least. “That’s better,” the girl observed. Two tickets came out of the machine. Faith collected them. “Hey, you got two tickets.”

“I don’t want pity tickets,” the Devil sneered. He swiped his card again. “I will figure this game out. It’s like a new lover. You have to stroke her just right, angle your feet just so.”

“Please don’t ruin ski ball for me,” Faith sighed.

The Devil positioned himself just so in front of the game. “More than anything, it’s all about the follow through.” He sent the ball up the ramp and it landed soundly in the 1,000-point hole. He smiled. “You liked that, didn’t you, darling?”

“Too late. It’s ruined.” Faith buried her face in her hands.

The method worked, though, and Lucifer played a perfect game. He cheered triumphantly at the end. “Huzzah! And that is how it’s done.” He looked down to watch four tickets come out of the machine. “Four tickets? That’s only two more than last time.”

“Yeah, four is pretty much the max around here,” Faith remarked as she tore off the tickets. “That’s why the mystery prize is still a mystery.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Welcome to the arcade.” Faith shrugged.

The Devil wasn’t about to accept that. He gave the ticket panel a swift kick. It popped open. “What are you doing?” Faith wanted to know. 

“Getting what I earned.” Lucifer leaned down and pulled the roll of tickets out of the machine.

“You can’t do that,” Faith whispered.

“If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s an unjust system. How many times have you played this game?”

“A lot.”

“And did you ever get the full amount of winnings you truly deserved?” Lucifer pressed.

“No,” Faith had to admit.

“That changes today.” He placed the roll of tickets in her hands.

“Yeah, but Gerald’s going to catch on.” 

“You leave the shopkeep to me,” the Devil assured her. “What corrupt gaming system should we tackle next?”

Faith smiled. “You were right. This is way better than I’d planned.”

Two hours later, Faith and Lucifer were engaged in a heated racing battle on the streets of Tokyo. “You are going down!” Faith boasted.

“I doubt that,” he replied in perfect Japanese.

“You might speak the language, but you don’t know this game like I do,” Faith assured. She threw her throttle to full tilt and employed her car’s secret weapon. She was very much in the lead now.

“I want rocket thrusters,” Lucifer protested. “When did you get that upgrade?”

“When you were busy debating paint color schemes,” Faith laughed.

“Damn!” Lucifer snatched another Twizzler from the pack between them as they raced on.

Detectives Decker and Espinoza entered the arcade. “Are you sure Lucifer is here?” Dan asked. “This isn’t his kind of place.”

“He wasn’t answering my texts, or calls, so I tracked his phone, and this is the location it pinged.” Chloe scanned the room.

“Maybe he was kidnapped, or his phone was stolen?” Dan speculated.

Chloe spotted her elusive civilian consultant. “Or he’s playing a game.”

“Is that Psychotic Street Racers 4? I love that game!” Dan hurried over to them. “Is this the Tokyo level?”

“Yes, and I am kicking ass!” Faith announced.

“Oh, hello, Detective!” Lucifer was all smiles as Chloe joined them. “Gotten a new lead on the case, have we?”

“Yes, and you would know that, if you were checking your phone,” Detective Decker remarked.

Lucifer grimaced slightly. “Apologies, Detective. Got a little caught up in the game, I’m afraid.” Faith hopped a bridge and acquired an additional thruster. “Bloody hell! Is that even legal?!”

“It’s all legal on the streets of Tokyo,” Faith assured him.

“That is not true,” the Devil countered.

“Don’t, don’t take that route. Get off the surface streets.” Dan leaned forward over Lucifer’s seat, getting right in the Devil’s ear. “Take the alley! Take the alley!”

“I don’t need a backseat Dan, thank you very much!”

Dan leaned back. “I call next game.”

Chloe gave him a look. “No, we have a lead on a murder, that we need to solve.”

The game finished with Faith as the clear victor. She reached over and punched Lucifer in the shoulder. “That’s right. Suck it, Satan!”

Much to Chloe’s surprise, Lucifer smiled. “Very well, to the victor go the spoils.” He handed Faith the rest of the Twizzlers.

“I got next game!” Dan announced again.

“We have jobs to do,” Chloe reminded them.

Lucifer stood and straightened his jacket. “The Detective is right. I’ll, just, collect my winnings and cash out.” He looked around the arcade. “Right, where are those urchins?” He whistled and two, preteen boys hurried over. They handed him two slips of paper, each one amounted to 5,000 tickets. “Did you feed all the tickets through the counting machines?”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Morningstar,” one of them assured.

“And you didn’t pocket any with your little, sticky hands?” He stared them down. They shook their heads. “Very well then.” He pulled a neatly stacked brick of tickets, totaling about 200, out of his jacket and handed it to the boys. “Per our agreement, here’s a little something for the both of you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Morningstar,” one of them gushed.

“Off you go. I don’t care to look at you any longer.” Lucifer shooed the boys away.

Dan gaped at the amount of tickets Lucifer had earned. “You got 10,000 tickets?”

“What? Like it’s hard?” Lucifer quipped. He turned his attention to Detective Decker. “Let me cash out, and we’ll be on our way.”

“That’ll take a minute, Chloe,” Dan began. “Which is all the time we need . . .”

“Fine,” Chloe caved. “One race.”

“Yes!” Dan settled in the racecar seat and looked at Faith. “You’re going down.”

“I doubt that, Detective Dou – I mean, Espinoza.”

Lucifer watched Chloe for a second. Gerald was engaged with another customer at the counter, and they did have a moment. “Detective, fancy a game of strike a mole?”

“What?”

“Strike a mole, the game where you strike the varmints with a foam mallet,” the Devil explained.

Chloe smiled. “I know what it is, Lucifer, I’ve just never heard it called that before.” 

“Fancy a game?” He indicated the machine.

“Sure.” Chloe sighed. “Why not?”

“Excellent!” Lucifer led her to the machine and swiped his card. “This is my side. That’s yours. I’ve found it helps if you imagine the little buggers as someone that frustrates you.”

“I can handle that,” Chloe assured him.

They spent the next, few minutes whacking moles. At one point, Chloe reached over and struck one of the moles on Lucifer’s side. “I don’t need your help, Detective.”

“You sure? Because you look a little slow to me.” She kept hitting moles on both sides. Lucifer joined in with her, and soon they were both laughing and playfully shoving against one another to compete for space. When the game was over, they were still laughing.

“Good game, Detective.”

She smiled. “Yeah, it was fun.”

They kept looking at one another, and Faith watched them from around her racing game. “I win!” Dan announced, calling her attention back to what she had been doing.

“Oh, yeah, well, you really know this game,” Faith conceded.

Amenadiel entered the arcade, pulling Lucifer’s attention away from the Detective. “’I should, uh, cash out so we can go.” 

“Yeah,” Chloe agreed.

The Devil reluctantly left the Detective’s side and went to the front where his brother was waiting. “Luci, why did you call me here?”

“I called you hours ago. What have you been up to, brother? Saving the innocent, taking a leisurely stroll, snogging one of my former flames?”

Amenadiel looked away for a moment. “I, uh, was watching a television program, and I forgot my phone was on silent.”

“Oh, what program?”

“Desperate Housewives – look, it doesn’t matter. What is so important, Luci?”

Lucifer looked back at Faith. She and Dan were engaged in another race. Detective Decker had taken a phone call and momentarily stepped away. “That girl there.” Lucifer indicated Faith. “Is she familiar to you?”

Amenadiel took a step closer to get a better look. “I don’t believe so, why?”

“How many times did our Father send you off to do His bidding by helping unsuccessful couples procreate and produce miracle babies?” the Devil wanted to know.

“Just the once,” the older angel assured him.

“So, He never told you to go and make a baby that would have the ability to see the future?” Lucifer pressed.

“She can do that?”

“Sometimes. She has these visions.”

“Where did you find her?” Now Amenadiel was intrigued.

“She found me. And she knows I’m the Devil, like the actual Devil, and she doesn’t seem to mind.”

“How odd.”

“Yes.”

“Is she like a Fate?” Amenadiel pondered.

“No, she’s not a Fate. She’s very emphatic on that point, and I believe her.” Lucifer turned back to the prize counter and called Gerald over. “I’m ready to cash out, shopkeep.” Lucifer placed his ticket slips on the glass. “I’ll take that mystery prize of yours.”

Gerald sighed. “Listen, I know you’ve made a mockery of our ticketing system. I’m not honoring that.”

Lucifer smiled and leaned forward. “Gerald, you’re a man who’s well past his prime, and yet you work here, in an arcade designed for smelly, young humans. This cannot be what you wanted for your life. Tell me, what is it you truly desire?”

Gerald’s face went slack. “I want to recapture my youth. The arcade was my safe place growing up. You used to want to play the games, it wasn’t about earning tickets, or winning stupid prizes. I mean, this stuff is junk.”

“Right, and now it’s gone corporate. Teens spend all their money on baubles that end up in the trash the next day.”

“It’s a shame, a damn shame.” Gerald shook his head.

The Devil leaned a little closer. “Then to hell with the ticketing system, Gerald.”

The shopkeep took a deep, empowering breath. “Yeah, to hell with it.” He opened the nearest prize drawer and began to toss the items out into the arcade. “I’m done with this stuff.” The kids in the room automatically pounced.

“Gerald, uh, as much as I love a good revolution, I will still be taking your mystery prize.” Lucifer called the man back over.

“Right.” Gerald pulled aside a black drape behind the counter. “Ta da!” he announced.

Lucifer and Amenadiel cocked their heads. “Is that?” the Angel asked.

“Yes, I think it is, and it’s mine now,” the Devil surmised.

Chloe stepped up to the counter. She watched the kids snatching up the prizes as Gerald tossed them out. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but we need to get back to the station.” She noticed for the first time that Lucifer’s brother was with them. “Oh, hi, Amenadiel. What are you doing here?”

Lucifer put his arm around his brother’s shoulder. “He’s here to take my grand prize home.”

Chloe looked at the item before her. “You won that? Congratulations?”

“It’s not the best spoils I’ve received, I admit, but that’s not the point. It’s all about how you win, that counts.” Lucifer watched Gerald for a moment. “Keep up the good work, Gerald. Don’t let the corporate bastards keep you down!”

“I won’t!”

Lucifer looked back at Chloe. “Return to the case then, shall we?”

Amenadiel tried to catch his brother as he walked off. “Luci, how am I supposed to get this back to your place?!” The Devil deliberately ignored him.


	10. Outbox, not Inbox

“Dr. Berkin sent our victim threatening emails, but she wasn’t the killer,” Ella caught them up to speed back at the station. “Turns out, Dr. Levasky was sending threatening emails of his own, but not to Dr. Berkin.”

“Who was he sending them to?” Dan asked.

“It’s a general info email address for the Adam Hart Ministries.” Ella pulled up one of the emails on the large screen before them.

“I know what you’re doing. I have proof. If you keep up your charade, I’ll expose you for the frauds you are,” Lucifer read. “Awfully harsh, coming from a charlatan himself.”

“Wait, Adam Hart Ministries.” Chloe shuffled through the paperwork before her. “The Levasky Foundation made several donations to that ministry starting six years ago.”

“Six years ago, as in when Dr. Levasky was publishing his first book?” Dan inquired.

“Yes, and they’ve made a donation every year since, except this year,” Chloe noted.

“What does that mean?” Faith wanted to know.

“It means we need to get back in touch with Ron Mitchell. According to the Board Meeting minutes, he voted no to the donation every time.”

“What is the Adam Hart Ministry?” Faith asked.

Ella looked a little shocked. “You’ve never heard the inspirational story of Adam Hart? Poor kid had a traumatic injury when he was two, climbed a dresser and pulled it over on himself. He was in a coma for almost a year. His parents were told to pull the plug, but they kept saying no. Kid was brain dead and everything. One day, like a year later, his dad, David Hart comes into the room and unplugs the machines. The doctors freak out of course, but Mr. Hart holds them off, tells them he received a message from God that Adam would be healed all on his own.” Lucifer made a discernable face, both Chloe and Faith took note. Ella continued. “And wouldn’t you know it, the kid starts breathing on his own. His brain function comes back, at least most of it, and he leaves the hospital a few months later.”

“He made a full recovery?” Dan pressed.

“Not exactly,” Ella replied.

“Of course not, because that’s now how my Father works,” Lucifer pointed out.

“Adam doesn’t talk. Like, he never spoke again after the accident, but - well, let me show you.” Ella pulled up a video on YouTube.

In the video, Adam Hart was sitting in a chair onstage. The audience in the room, which appeared to be some sort of thrown together church, was full. The boy, who was now twelve years old, stared straight ahead. His father stood by his side. “Everyone wanted me to give up on Adam,” he told the room. “They told me he’d never recover, never leave the hospital. They wanted me to cast him aside, but God, God told me he had other plans for my son. Adam’s body might have been in that bed, but his soul was with the Almighty. But it wasn’t time for Adam to go Home, not yet. God sent Adam back to us to help spread His Word. I never lost my faith in God, and I never lost my faith in Adam. My son is a piece of the Divine here on Earth, and it is God’s will that he shares this spark of Divinity with each of you.”

One by one, members came forward before the father and son duo. David would take his son’s hands and place them on the people. There was lots of crying and shouting. As each person walked away, David Hart proclaimed them healed. Chloe watched Lucifer’s face closely. To her surprise, he turned his attention to Faith. The girl did seem very uneasy with the scene before them.

Near the end of the video, David Hart leaned over and hugged his son. A woman, presumably his wife and Adam’s mother joined them. “We’re so proud of you, son,” David told Adam. “You’re doing God’s work.”

The woman took Adam’s hands, and for the first time the boy turned his head. He looked at his mother and it was the only moment when there seemed to be any sort of recognition in his eyes.

The video ended, and Dan pointed at the screen. “Hold up, is that how many people donated through this video?”

“1.5 million dollars, yep,” Ella replied.

“People will throw their money away on anything,” Lucifer scoffed, “just ask our dear friend Gerald.”

“Who?” Ella was confused.

“So, why did Dr. Levasky choose to send a threatening email this time instead of money?” Chloe wondered.

Within thirty minutes, Foundation President Ron Mitchell was back with them in the interrogation room. “Thank you for coming in, Mr. Mitchell.” Chloe took a seat, and in an unprecedented turn of events, Lucifer offered the other chair to Faith.

“I hear you all cleared Dr. Berkin,” was Ron’s response.

“This isn’t about the threatening email our dear doctor received, Ron,” Lucifer informed. “This is about the threatening emails he sent.”

“What?”

Chloe showed Ron the email print outs. “Do you recognize this address?”

“Adam Hart Ministry.”

“And you objected ever year that the Levasky Foundation donated to this ministry. Why?” the Detective pressed.

Ron folded his hands on top of the table and picked his words carefully. “Listen, I don’t have anything against the Hart family or their ministry. I didn’t think we should be donating to any religious cause.”

“Was Dr. Levasky a religious man?” Chloe wanted to know.

“Not outwardly, no, but he had his share of faith in private. Who doesn’t after a brush with death, right?” Ron took a breath. “When Angelo was first diagnosed, the normal, scientific methods didn’t work, as you know.”

“Yes, that’s when he started marketing his get rich quick scheme,” Lucifer commented.

“Did Dr. Levasky go and see Adam Hart?” Faith asked, surprising them both.

Ron took another breath. “Before he had his breakthrough, Angelo did go and see Adam and his family. For whatever reason, he credited that meeting with his inspiration to try a new method.”

“So, the boy laid hands on him and he was cured?” Lucifer was beyond skeptical.

“No, that’s not how it worked,” Ron protested.

“Of course not, because it doesn’t work at all,” the Devil enforced. “Believe me, I know.”

“Do you have any idea why Dr. Levasky would send threatening emails to the ministry, or why he chose not to donate this year?” Chloe asked.

“I can’t say,” Ron replied. 

“In his email, Dr. Levasky said he had proof exposing someone in the ministry. Do you know what that might be?” Chloe tried another angle.   
Ron held up his hands. “You know as much as I do. Turns out, Angelo wasn’t as forthcoming as I thought. Who knows what other secrets he was hiding?”

“We’ll need to set up a meeting with the Harts.” Chloe looked at Lucifer.

Ron gave a little laugh. “Good luck getting anything out of them. They’re very good about hiding behind The Bible and the First Amendment. If you think I’m intimidating, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

“No one thinks you’re intimidating,” the Devil assured him. “And I happen to be quite the Biblical expert, so game on.”

“Do you think Adam chooses to do it?” Faith asked Lucifer as they left the interrogation room.

“What, lay hands on people and pretend to heal them?”

Faith nodded. “He can’t talk. How do they know that’s what he wants? His mother looked like she loved him in that video we watched.”

“Yes, she did,” Lucifer agreed, watching Faith closely. 

Chloe joined them. “Lucifer, are you going to be okay coming to the Harts? I know how you feel about organized religion.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about, Detective,” he replied. “Faith, are you going to be okay?” His voice was so sincere.

“Yeah.” Faith shook her head. “We need answers, and it looks like Adam Hart’s got ‘em.”

“Let’s hope his parents are willing to work with us,” Chloe pointed out.

“Leave that to me, Detective,” Lucifer assured.

“Yeah, that doesn’t instill me with confidence.”


	11. Heart to Hart

The Hart Family Homestead was large and sprawling. It was not cheap real estate by any standards, especially California’s. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us this evening, Mrs. Hart,” Detective Decker spoke to the rather mousy woman before them.

“All are welcome at the ranch,” she assured them. Lucifer looked away and took a drink from his flask, wishing he’d refilled before the drive out there.   
Mrs. Hart indicated the man to her right. “This is Dr. Avery.”

“Bloody hell, there’s another doctor?” Lucifer sighed. “How many does that make?”

“Lucifer,” Chloe warned.

“Honestly, I’m losing track, Detective. They should wear name tags. And if one of you could write ‘killer’ directly under your name, it’d be helpful.”

“Killer?” Mrs. Hart sounded shocked.

“Wait, does this have to do with Dr. Levasky’s death?” Dr. Avery asked.

”How’d you know about that?” Faith wanted to know.

“Word travels fast in the medical community,” Dr. Avery explained.

“Did you know Dr. Levasky?” Chloe pressed.

“We met at a few conferences, but nothing more than that. I was aware of his work, of course.”

“Dr. Avery is Adam’s personal physician. We are so very blessed that he chose to leave his practice and come care for Adam.” Mrs. Hart placed her hand on Dr. Avery’s shoulder.

“Did you know Dr. Levasky, Mrs. Hart?” Chloe turned her attention to the woman.

“Like Dr. Avery, I knew of his work.”

“We know Dr. Levasky came to your ministry six years ago looking for help. Did you have any dealings with him then?” Chloe continued.

Mrs. Hart shook her head. “No, David handles the ministry, and Dr. Levasky found what he was searching for. I remember that.”

“Not sure he’d agree with you now,” Lucifer pointed out.

“Is Mr. Hart home?” the Detective asked.

“Yes, but he and Adam just got home from a ministry outreach. They’re both very tired. I doubt he’ll be up for talking this evening,” Dr. Avery informed them.

“We were hoping to speak with Adam, too, Mrs. Hart. Doesn’t have to be this evening, but we’d like to meet with him.”

“Adam doesn’t talk.” Mrs. Hart was emphatic.

“We know, but we were hoping you’d be open to us meeting with him.” Chloe wasn’t about to back down.

“I would have to advise against that, from a medical standpoint,” Dr. Avery hurried to interject.

Mrs. Hart took a breath. “I, uh – Adam wouldn’t even remember Dr. Levasky. He meets thousands of people.”

“That’s all right, Mrs. Hart.” The Detective decided to shift tactics. “Do you know why Dr. Levasky might have sent threatening emails to your ministry?”

“What?”

Chloe showed her the printout. “Do you know what ‘proof’ he might have been referring to in regard to your ministry?”

“I, uh . . .” Mrs. Hart was stunned into silence.

“Melora, you don’t have to say another word,” Dr. Avery advised her. “David should . . .”

“David should what?” Mr. Hart stepped out onto the porch and joined them. He was all smiles. “I heard my name.”

“So, you decided to appear?” Lucifer smiled. “How fitting.”

“David, I thought you were sleeping?” 

David put his arm around his wife’s shoulders and pulled her close, with a little too much force. “My wife, she’s always worried about my health, but if the Spirit is willing, you’ll go where it moves you. What’s going on out here?”

“These detectives have some questions about Dr. Levasky.” Mrs. Hart handed him the printout. He read it, and his smile wavered slightly. 

“Do you know why Dr. Levasky would have sent this email to you, Mr. Hart?”

“Terrible blow, losing Dr. Levasky, horrible tragedy.” He handed the paper back to the Detective. “We get hate mail all the time. People are afraid, and they lash out. We simply turn the other cheek.”

Lucifer snorted and Chloe gave him a look. “I’m sorry, are you all really buying this?”

David squeezed his wife’s shoulders again. “Gosh, I wish Melora had called me on out here to begin with. I could have cleared all this up quick. Not really her place to talk about the ministry, but she had my best interest at heart.” Melora smiled weakly and tucked her head down.

Chloe shifted her stance as she watched the couple. “We have reason to believe Dr. Levasky’s cancer had returned and he might have blamed your ministry for his relapse.”

David scoffed. “You hear how crazy that sounds? People put blame everywhere except where it belongs, with themselves. We are sorry for his death, but we cannot be responsible for his lack of faith.”

“And that’s what killed him, his lack of faith?” Lucifer quipped.

“Yes. Dr. Levasky strayed from the path. That’s why his illness had returned, and I know his lack of faith had everything to do with his eventual fate,” David explained. “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.”

“That is Daddy’s favorite past time, stripping His children of the things they love the most,” Lucifer agreed. “So, what makes you so different that you can perpetually earn His favor?”

David studied Lucifer for a moment. “You don’t believe, do you?”

“Oh, I believe in a lot of things, but I don’t believe in this.”

“I’ll pray for you,” David assured him.

“I’d prefer you didn’t.”

“They asked to meet with Adam,” Dr. Avery spoke in David’s ear.

“That is not an option.” David was firm. “We aren’t suspects. We’ve done nothing wrong. Adam doesn’t need to be subjected to this.”

“You’ve got to protect the ‘miracle’ at all costs, right?” Lucifer remarked.

David took a step closer to the Devil. “Adam is a miracle yes, but what’s more, I’m his father, and I protect him from things that might hurt him. You’re clearly a very damaged soul. I’m sorry if your parents never cared enough about you to do the same.”

Lucifer had to work hard to keep his eyes from flashing. “How dare . . .”

“Lucifer.” Chloe extended her arm to keep her partner back, when Faith, who had been strangely quiet for the last little bit spoke up.

“Aba,” Faith said.

“What?” David asked, but Faith wasn’t looking at him. She was staring at his wife. Melora looked up, recognition obvious on her face.

“Aba,” Faith repeated.

“How do you . . .” Mrs. Hart began to ask.

“I think you all should leave now,” David spoke. “We have nothing more to say.”

“We’re having a service tomorrow, in the barn,” Melora shouted over her husband. “One o’clock. Please join us.” She pointed to the large barn on the property. “We have nothing to hide.”

David gave his wife a very pointed look and took a deep breath. When he looked back at the detectives, he was all smiles again. “My wife is right. Forgive my lack of manners this evening. I am a little tired. We have nothing to hide, and we’d be honored if you joined us tomorrow.”

“We’ll see you then,” Chloe assured them.

David nodded. He took his wife by the shoulders and led her inside. She turned her head and kept her eyes on Faith until the door closed behind them.

“What did you say to her?” Lucifer asked the girl.

“Aba?”

“Like the band?”

“I don’t know. It just came to me,” Faith admitted.

“Whatever it was, it got Mrs. Hart’s attention, and it got us back on the property.” Chloe looked at Lucifer. “Are you going to be okay to come back here tomorrow?”

“They’ve clearly got something to hide, and I’d like to ferret it out as much as you, Detective.” Lucifer straightened his suit jacket. “I will be calm and collected, I promise you.”

“Do you really think they had something to do with Dr. Levasky’s death?” Faith asked.

“The evidence is beyond circumstantial, but they’re our best lead right now.” Chloe looked back at the house.

“I don’t like the way he talks to his wife,” Faith spoke up.

“Neither do I, but that doesn’t make him a murderer.”

“I don’t like his veneers,” Lucifer tossed out there.

“Yeah, they’re very white,” Chloe agreed. She looked at Faith. “Will you be joining us again tomorrow?”

“One day mentor-ship, I’m afraid.” Lucifer looked as upset as he sounded. Faith wasn’t sure how to take that.

“Oh, well, it was nice to meet you, Faith.” Chloe shook her hand. “I wish you could come back tomorrow. You’re not bad at this. You’re pretty good, actually. Ever thought of a career in law enforcement?”

Faith looked both simultaneously surprised and disappointed. “I would love that, but I don’t think it’s in the cards.”

“Keep it in the back of your head, just in case,” Chloe advised.

“Thanks for letting me tag along today.”

Chloe nodded and walked off. “Good night, Lucifer.”

“Good night, Detective.” As soon as he was out of ear shot, he looked at Faith. “Right, where do I need to deposit your body when you keel over?” His voice didn’t hold its usual, sarcastic bite, and Faith could have sworn there was a hint of remorse in his eyes, however brief, for having phrased it like that. 

“I think it’s time we visit the spot,” the girl told him.


	12. The Spot

“I didn’t wear the proper shoes for this,” Lucifer complained. He swatted at a branch to get it out of his way as they continued down the trail. “Or the right suit. Never wear Armani in the woods.”

“This isn’t the woods, and you’re fine,” Faith assured him.

“This ‘spot’ had better be worth it,” the Devil commented. It was getting darker around them as the sun set. 

“Oh, it is.” He could hear Faith’s voice from the other side of heavy thicket. Lucifer pushed through the undergrowth and joined her. There was a landing and then the ground dropped off quickly. The California hills and valleys stretched out below them. The sun was setting in front of them, and it painted the sky with an array of colors. Faith looked back to gauge his reaction.

“It’s not a Monet or Picasso, but it’s nice to look at,” the Devil conceded. “Not sure it was worth the damage to my ensemble, though.” He picked a bramble off his suit.

Faith rolled her eyes. She took a seat on the ground and stared out at the scene before her. “When I first got to LA, I didn’t have a lot of money left. I would break into shops and sleep on the floor. I got caught one evening, and I took off running from the cops. For some reason, I ran this way. Cops didn’t follow me.”

“Because they didn’t want to plow through the jungle,” Lucifer remarked.

“Anyhow, I found myself out here, and it was sunset, just like now. And in that moment, it didn’t matter that I was alone, on the run from the cops, and out of money. It didn’t matter because . . .”

“Because you were finally free,” Lucifer spoke for her. He nodded. “I know something about that.” Surprisingly, he joined her on the ground.

“What about your expensive suit?”

“Please, I have a thousand of these.”

Faith laughed. “I don’t doubt that.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Lucifer watched her; increasingly sorry their time was ending.

“Jeremiah was a bullfrog  
Was a good friend of mine,” Faith sang.

Lucifer was taken aback. “Are you ill? Is this it? Are you dying right now?”

She ignored him and kept singing. “I never understood a single word he said  
But I helped him a-drink his wine  
And he always had some mighty fine wine  
Singin' joy to the world  
All the boys and girls now  
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea  
Joy to you and me.”

Faith took another breath. “I sat here and sang that song. I don’t know why. It was the first thing that popped in my head.”

“I don’t know why either. There are far better songs.”

“You don’t like that song?”

“No.”

She nudged him with her shoulder, and he nudged her back. They sat in companionable silence for a moment. “Aba, that word you said to Mrs. Hart, was it in one of your visions?” he asked, because he had to know.

“Yeah, I saw a flash of Adam looking at her, and that’s what he said, ‘Aba.”

“But Adam doesn’t talk.”

“He did in my future vision.” Faith thought about it for a minute. “Aba, it’s a strange word.”

“And a terrible band. Their music is very popular torture in hell.”

“Maybe it’s a word Adam used to say before the accident?” Faith wondered.

Lucifer’s eyes lit up. “Now you’re on to something. And if he said it before, maybe he can say it again? We’ll need to get him to ourselves tomorrow, just for a moment.” Lucifer automatically regretted his words. “I’ll have to do it, I suppose, seeing as you’re on your way out.” He took the list from his jacket pocket and handed it back to her. “Sorry we only got to do two of the four, because I’m not counting your last addition. But I suppose we could go and get the ice cream, depending on the establishment in question?”

Faith didn’t take the list. “Yeah, who knew solving a murder would be so hard?” She pushed his hand back. “You can keep the list. I’m not dying tonight.”

“What?!” Lucifer considered tossing her off the cliff for a split second. “That was the whole point of the deal. Did you lie to me?! I hate it when people lie to me.” His eyes flashed briefly, and Faith leaned back a little.

“I didn’t lie. I am dying, just not tonight. I told you these visions don’t have an exact timeline.”

“So, you could drop dead a month from now or a year from now?”

“No!” Faith was forceful. “It’s soon. I can feel the urgency, but it’s, it’s not tonight.” She turned to face Lucifer. “I am dying, that’s the truth.”

“You’d better be,” he huffed. Secretly, though, he was relieved it wasn’t happening tonight.

Faith chewed on her lip for a moment as the silence stretched between them. “You want me to come with you tomorrow, back to the ranch?”

Lucifer tucked her list back in his jacket pocket. “Apparently, our deal is still actively in process, and it’ll be much harder for me to convince the Detective that we need to sneak off with Adam and speak nonsensical words to him.”

“So, that’s a yes?” Faith smiled.

Lucifer eyed her. “You are an infuriating person.”

“You’re an infuriating deity,” she replied.

Lucifer stood and dusted off his pants. “Right. What sad apartment should I drop you at for the night?”

“Yeah, I was sharing a place with some other people, but I paid up my rent for the month and put the rest of my stuff out by the curb,” Faith confessed.

“Of course, you did.” Lucifer contemplated throwing himself off the cliff, just to get a break for a moment.

“I’ve got two hundred dollars, though, just drop me at some hotel.” Faith stood and dusted off her own slacks.

He could drop her at a hotel. He should drop her at a hotel. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but you can come back to my place.”

“What?”

“I know. It makes no sense for me to say that. By all rights, I should throw you off this blasted hill, but I won't.”

Faith looked down at the gully below. “Uh, thanks for not throwing me off the cliff?”

“You’re welcome. Now come on. I don’t want to have to crawl through this jungle in the dark.” Faith rolled her eyes and followed.


	13. Good Night, Louis

“Oh, well, that looks better than when I left.” Lucifer surveyed the new pipe and the semi-patched ceiling as he walked into Lux.

“They’re halfway done.” Mazikeen disentangled herself from the construction worker slumped across her. She pushed him to the side and met Lucifer at the bar.

“Maze, didn’t think you’d still be here.” The Devil poured himself a drink. “Keeping an eye on the home front for me?”

The demon scoffed. “Hardly. Two of the guys had a bounty out on them, unpaid parking tickets, child support, lame stuff, but I still brought ‘em in. All about my quota.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “You could’ve let ‘em finish my ceiling first, Maze.”

She smiled and looked at the construction worker who was busy locating his clothing. “And Pablo, well, he was busy with another kind of work.” Faith averted her eyes and let out a breath. The demon seemed to notice her for the first time. “What is she doing back here?”

“We’ve been together all day,” Lucifer informed her. He poured himself another drink. “Faith’s future visions have been very insightful to the case.”

“So, you solved another murder?” Maze asked.

“No.” Lucifer shook his head. “But we’re 50% there, 25 to 50%.”

Maze took a step closer to Faith and sized her up. Faith tried not to flinch too much. “Tell me, human girl, can you see my future?”

“Uh,” Faith faltered. “I see leather, a knife . . .”

“That’s every day.” Lucifer pointed to the knife in Maze’s hand. “That’s right now.”

“. . .baby puke,” Faith added, and they all looked confused.

“Baby puke?” Maze sounded genuinely disgusted.

“Oh, now that’s interesting, Mazikeen with a baby?” Lucifer laughed. “Think of the therapy bills.”

“It’s clearly not going to happen!” Maze took a step back from Faith. “Your oracle is defective.” 

Pablo had finally managed to gather his clothing and don most of it. He stumbled up to Maze. “So, uh, can I get those digits?” Maze snarled and grabbed his arm, pinning him to the bar.

“You’re not getting paid for today, by the way,” Lucifer informed the man.

“Never gonna happen!” Maze told him. She gave Pablo’s arm another twist and released him. “Never gonna happen!” she repeated, but this time it came out in her demonic tongue.

The man screamed and hightailed it up the stairs and out of the building. Faith cleared out of the way and hugged to the bar tightly. Lucifer watched her. “Oh, so Maze is scary, but I tell you I’m the actual Devil and you barely bat an eye? There is no way Mazikeen is more threatening than I am.” Lucifer scoffed and noticed his ultimate mystery prize was standing in the corner. “Oh, Amenadiel did drop it off!” He ran over to the large, metallic, crown wearing giraffe. 

“Yeah, I forgot to mention your brother dropped off a rabid giraffe statue.”

Lucifer touched its crown fondly. “I’m going to call him Louis.” The two women just stared at him. “Louis XIV and I did this thing once with a giraffe and . . .never mind, you had to be there.”

“Whatever, I’m going back to Deckers. She was doing a grocery run, means she’ll have those chips I like.” Maze turned to leave. “They fixed the water in the penthouse; in case Faith wants to get any further up your backside.” With that, the demon was out.

“Ew, no.” Lucifer shook his head at the thought.

“You asked me to stay over and you didn’t have any water?” Faith gave him an accusatory look.

“The toilets still had water in their bowls. People do it here all the time,” Lucifer defended. “Mostly in the morning, before they rush off to work.”

“Gross.” Now it was Faith’s turn to make a face.

“Come on, Louis. I’ll show you the penthouse.” Lucifer picked up the giraffe and headed for the elevator. He looked back at Faith. “You, too.”

“So, you don’t use the bathroom?” Faith asked as the elevator doors closed behind them.

“I don’t need to, no, but I can for appearances sake.”

Faith looked him over for a minute. “Does your body like absorb it, or -?”

Lucifer stared back at her. “It gets deposited in hell. How do you think it rains down there?”

Faith was momentarily horrified. “Really?”

“No, not really.” Lucifer cracked a smile. “I honestly don’t know how it works; angel biology is largely incomprehensible.”

“Yeah, they definitely don’t cover that in The Bible.”

“Ugh, that book is full of inaccuracies.” The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Lucifer picked up Louis and stepped out. 

Faith’s jaw dropped as she took in the size of the penthouse. “Wow,” she whispered as she ventured out into the actual room.

Lucifer stopped and looked back at her. “I know,” he boasted.

Faith spun around in the room. “Your place is huge!”

“Yes, it is,” the Devil beamed.

“Look at your books.” Faith ran down the bookshelf. “And this couch!” She ran her hand along the Italian leather on her way back.

Lucifer winced. “Please don’t touch all my things.”

“And this, broken clock.” Faith picked up the radio clock from the end table, confused as to why it was in Lucifer’s house. 

“I said don’t touch my things!” The Devil ran over and took the clock from her.

“Your clock is broken.”

“It took a soak,” he explained.

“Pretty sure you’re not supposed to ‘soak’ your clocks.”

“I know that!” he snapped.

“Oh, is this one of those Wonder Clocks that guy used to sell on TV?” Faith knew she recognized it.

“Yes, and it’s my favorite piece of kitsch.” Lucifer smacked the clock until its screen was readable once more. “Every eccentric billionaire has their best piece of kitsch, although . . .” He looked back at Louis. “Now that I have Louis, I suppose I’ll have to choose. Oh, it’s like Sophie’s Choice,” he bemoaned.

“No, it’s not.” Faith left him and moved out on to his balcony. 

Lucifer set the clock down. That hard decision could wait a bit. He joined Faith out on the balcony. She was all smiles again as she took in the view. He let her have the moment. There was no reason to ruin it with a quip, a jab, or any words at all. It was so simple, the way she seemed to genuinely enjoy life. A part of Lucifer found it annoying, another part found it endearing, both parts envied it. 

“I venture this is the best view you’ve ever seen?” he spoke at last, because he had to say something. He was not one to just enjoy the silence.

“It’s no spot, but it’s nice to look at.” Faith tossed his earlier words back at him with a smile.

Lucifer rolled his eyes and stepped back into the penthouse. “All right, ground rules.” Faith reluctantly followed him. “One, don’t touch my stuff. Two, the top shelf of the bar is off limits, but you’re welcome to anything on the bottom shelf.”

“Nah, I don’t really drink.”

Lucifer was aghast. “And just when I was starting to find you tolerable.”

“Thank you?”

“Three, if you get hungry,” the Devil continued, “there is a snack drawer behind the bar.”

Faith’s eyes lit up. “Oh, snacks!” She ran behind the bar and located the drawer. It was full of Doritos and Nutella. “Is this all you have?”

“Yes.”

“This is stoner snacks.” She held up a bag of Doritos.

“Your point being?” The girl kept staring at him. “Listen, this is my penthouse, and I know what I like to eat after I do a bunch of drugs. If I want something more, I order out. I can order out for you if you’d like?”

“Your life is weird,” Faith remarked. She opened one of the bags of Doritos.

“You’re weird,” the Devil retorted. “And, we’re going to have to do something about your attire for tomorrow.”

“Dude, why do you hate my clothes so much?”

Lucifer took a quick picture of her and began to text. “There’s not enough time on earth to explain it. Also, we are going to a church service tomorrow, remember?” He stopped texting and looked at her. “What are you, size four jeans, small blouse, size five, depending on the cut of the dress?”

“How did you know that?” Faith suddenly felt very exposed.

“I know the female body, my dear,” he assured her with a smile.

Faith shuddered. “Yeah, never call me that again.”

“See, doesn’t feel good, does it, being called a term you don’t want to be?”

“What, like partner? Not the same thing.”

“Most certainly is.” Lucifer’s phone dinged and he looked down at it. “Oh, I know Raphael, it’s horrid.”

“Who are you talking to?”

“My stylist. He’ll bring over some options for you in the morning. You’re welcome.”

Faith chewed her Doritos in silent disbelief. “You have a stylist on standby that you can text after midnight? No, of course you do.”

Lucifer pocketed his phone. “Right, bedtime.” He stepped into his bedroom and opened a wardrobe. He pulled out an extra set of blankets and pillow. Lucifer returned to the main room and deposited them on the non-Italian leather couch. “Bathroom is through there. I have separate towels for guests, shampoo, body spray, toothbrush, whatever you need.”

“I don’t want to use some randos toothbrush.” Faith sucked the cheese off her fingers.

Lucifer huffed. “No, I have a drawer full of toothbrushes for overnight guests. They’re all individually wrapped.”

Faith considered it for a moment. “Yeah, somehow that sounds worse and super slutty.”

“It is hygienic!” Lucifer defended. 

Faith ended up claiming a guest toothbrush of her own. Thirty minutes later, she was stretched out on the Devil’s sofa, which was somewhere she never thought she’d find herself. The silence was almost deafening, and Faith tossed and turned, the specifics of the case running through her mind.

“What kind of evidence would we need to prove someone at Hart Ministries killed Dr. Levasky?” she asked out loud.

There was silence for a moment more and then Lucifer spoke from his bedroom. “Are you talking to me?”

“No, I’m talking to Louis.” Faith got up and walked into his bedroom. “Of course, I’m talking to you.”

Lucifer sat up in his bed and removed his sleep mask. “Literally anything more than we have now,” he sighed, answering her earlier question.

Faith nodded and sat down on his bed. The Devil was appalled. “Please, Faith, come into my room and sit on my bed, said no one here.”

The girl ignored him. “Berkin is mad at Levasky because his miracle cure didn’t work, but Levasky was mad at the Harts for the same thing.”

Lucifer ran his hand over his face. “Didn’t you mention seeing the number 88 in your death vision? If I draw an 88 on my wall, will you disappear?”

“Not how it works.” Faith would not be deterred. “Berkin had proof that Levasky was lying. What kind of proof could Levasky have that the Harts are lying?”

Lucifer slumped back against his bed. “You’re not going to shut up, are you?”

“No, my mind’s too full. It helps if I talk things out.” Faith stretched out on her stomach and put her chin in her hands. Her bare feet kicked behind her in the air.

“Oh, this is going to be a long night,” Lucifer sighed. He looked longingly out into the other room. “Louis, you are by far the better house guest.”


	14. Good Morning, Louis

Lucifer drank his customary, morning glass of bourbon as he stared down at the girl draped across his bed. Usually, he would have welcomed such a sight, but that was not the case this morning. Faith had stayed up for hours going back and forth over the case until she had finally passed out, in the middle of the bed, and managed to hog all the space. Lucifer had given up sharing the bed with her and moved to the couch. Turns out, his couch was terribly uncomfortable for sleeping. He really should get another one. 

Lucifer flexed his neck and heard an audible pop. He instantly felt a little better. At least that part, whatever it had been, had slid back into place. He downed the rest of his drink and returned to the bar. It was definitely a multiple pour morning.

On his way back by, the Devil stopped at his piano. He let his fingers drift across the keys absentmindedly, his mind thinking about the day ahead. There was still time before the alarm went off, and Faith was sleeping soundly, and loudly. A song couldn’t hurt. It might even help to improve his mood. Lucifer sat down and placed his drink on top of the piano. He flexed his hands and began to play the first song that came to mind. It sounded suspiciously like “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night. 

“Shit.” Lucifer stopped playing and took a breath. He tried again. It was the same damn song his fingers wanted to play. He should punish them and forgo his weekly manicure. No, that was excessive. Lucifer resigned himself to playing the song. He did have to admit, it had a nice piano bit. It was the only part of the song that was tolerable.

“Thought you didn’t like that song?” Faith asked.

Lucifer startled and yelped, but only a little. Faith suppressed her laugh behind her hand. “It’s rude to sneak up on people,” the Devil informed her. He stopped playing. “I wasn’t trying to wake you.”

“The alarm’s going off,” Faith pointed out.

“The alarm?” Lucifer listened for a second, and sure enough he heard the steady beeping noise. 

Faith walked over to the Wonder Clock radio and picked it up. The alarm was going off as scheduled, but the clock’s screen was back to reading only half numbers. Faith gave it a couple of whacks until the screen was right again.

“You heard that through my playing?” Lucifer sounded slightly offended.

“My brain focuses on some noises more than others,” Faith explained. “Nothing personal. Your playing was just fine.”

“Just fine?” Now he was offended.

“Well, you didn’t put a lot of heart in your rendition, lacked a little soul.” Faith walked over and leaned against the piano.

Lucifer looked her directly in the eyes. “I might lack those things in person, but I have never lacked them on the piano.”

Faith leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. “Prove it.”

The doors to the elevator opened and Chloe was instantly confused. Lucifer was banging away at his piano and Faith was dancing around his apartment with a feather boa. The Detective considered stepping back on the elevator and trying again.

“You know I love the ladies  
Love to have my fun,” Lucifer sang as he played along with as much fire and passion as Chloe had ever seen him play with.  
“I'm a high life flyer and a rainbow rider  
A straight shootin' son-of-a-gun  
I said a straight shootin' son-of-a-gun.”

“Joy to the world,” Faith joined him on the chorus.  
“All the boys and girls  
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea  
Joy to you and me.”

“Take it, Louis.” She draped the boa around that ghastly giraffe statue Lucifer had won.

The Devil looked up and spotted Chloe. “Detective!” He stopped playing and turned to face her. Faith stumbled a little at the music’s sudden end. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” Lucifer asked.

Chloe looked at the girl. “Faith, you’re still here?”

“Yeah, turns out I get to hang around a little longer.”

“And you spent the night here?” Chloe made sure to articulate every word.

“Yep.” It was the only answer Faith could give.

“What kind of mentor-ship is this?” Chloe wanted to know.

“Uh.” Lucifer looked at Faith. “An evolving one, but it’s completely professional, I assure you, Detective.”

Chloe looked at the giraffe and the boa. “Yeah, I can see that.”

Lucifer followed her line of sight. “Oh, that’s just Louis. I won him.”

“I remember.” Chloe clapped her hands, more than ready to get back on task.

“What time is it?” Lucifer looked around for his phone. “We should get breakfast. I know where we can get the best frittatas this side of the Mediterranean.” 

“I have another stop in mind,” Chloe explained. “That’s why I came by.”

“Oh, breakfast burritos more your thing, or a nice, fruit cocktail? See, I didn’t suggest donuts. I remember you don’t like bear claws.”

“Trying too hard,” Faith mouthed to him. Lucifer waved her away with a scowl.

Chloe pulled her phone out to show Lucifer. “I’ve been looking into Hart Ministries, and Mr. Hart’s right, they do get a lot of hate mail.”

“Oh, I know, I sent them five last night.” Lucifer smiled.

Chloe ignored him. “Yes, well most of it’s your usual stuff, people who’ve never had any dealings with them but don’t agree with their message. Dr. Levasky was only one of two people who’d approached them for help to criticize them after the fact.” 

“So, who’s the second person?” Faith asked.

“It’s more like another ministry.” 

“The Little Church on the Corner,” Lucifer read. “How banal.”

“They used to be a part of Adam Hart Ministry, until their preacher, one Guy Jones, pulled his congregation out. He was pretty public for a while with his criticism.”

“What do you mean was public?” Faith took a step closer and Chloe showed her the phone.

“Eighteen months ago, he stopped, never said another peep about them.” 

“You think David Hart paid him to shut up,” Faith conjectured. The Detective looked pleased.

“I think it’s a fair question.” Chloe pocketed her phone. “I’ve arranged a visit before we go back to the Hart family ranch.”

“Ugh,” Lucifer groaned. “Two churches in one day? I’m going to need my back up flask. For the record, this is a terrible alternative to frittatas.” 

At that moment, the elevator dinged, and a strange man walked out with a rack of clothes. Lucifer’s eyes lit up. “Excellent, Raphael’s selections are here.” Lucifer paid the delivery man handsomely and sent him on his way. The Devil looked back at Chloe and Faith. “Right, I’ll go and get dressed. Faith, I’m sure the Detective can help you pick out something suitable. She’s usually well dressed.” With that, Lucifer bounded off into his bedroom.

Faith stepped up awkwardly to the rack and began to look through it. Chloe took a moment to process what had just happened, decided she really couldn’t, and joined Faith at the rack. 

“And now he’s buying her clothes.” Faith heard the Detective mutter.

“Lucifer and I aren’t sleeping together. I have no interest in him like that, like none whatsoever,” the girl spoke after a moment.

“Why would I care about that?” Chloe asked, but her body language said something else. “Lucifer and I are work partners, nothing else.”

“Oh, I know. I was just saying it, to the world, to Louis, whoever needed to hear it.” Faith selected an outfit from the rack. “Does this look okay?”

“Yeah, it does,” Chloe had to confess. These were nice clothes.

“Guess I’ll go downstairs and get ready.” Faith started for the elevators, but then she stopped. “Oh, but my toothbrush is in the . . .” She looked back at the bedroom and then at Chloe. “Never mind. I’m good.” She hurried off to the elevator and made a hasty exit.

Chloe made a face and walked around the room. She stopped in front of Louis and took a breath. “Why would I care if anything were going on between them? I don’t care.” Louis had nothing to say on the matter. Chloe sighed. “And why, am I talking to a golden giraffe?”


	15. Who Framed What Now?

About thirty minutes later, Detective Decker and her carful of civilian consultants pulled up to The Little Church on the Corner. “This doesn’t look like a church at all,” Lucifer observed as he stepped out of the car. The building in front of them lived up to its name. It was on the corner, and it was little, but it was also in an ongoing process of renovation.

“It used to be a saloon, one of the oldest in Los Angeles. Guy Jones bought it to restore it.”

“Into a church?” Lucifer clucked his tongue. “What a shame.”

They’d obviously come on a workday. A crane was sitting outside the church, carefully removing something from the upper story. “Mr. Jones said he’d meet us inside.” Chloe led the way, and the other two followed. They were walking under the crane, because there wasn’t a way around it, and there wasn’t caution tape or anything, when a terrible snapping noise came from above them. There was a shout and then there was a piano, an upright piano falling out of nowhere and heading straight for Faith.

Lucifer pushed Chloe forward, just to be sure she was in the clear. He grabbed Faith, picking her up as quickly as he could and pulling her out of the way before the piano shattered into a hundred pieces before them. “Holy shit!” Faith remarked. 

“Watch out!” someone from the upper story called too late.

Lucifer set Faith down and looked at her. “That could have killed you!” He turned his attention to Chloe. “Are you all right, Detective?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you guys okay?”

“I’m good,” Faith replied. She looked at the wrecked piano. “I didn’t think that actually happened. Guess Roger Rabbit is based on some truth, huh?”

“What?” Lucifer asked.

“Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The cop’s brother was killed by a falling piano.”

“Who framed what now?” Lucifer was confused.

“It’s a cartoon movie, well, half cartoon, half live action.”

“This isn’t a cartoon!” Lucifer insisted, pointing to what remained of the piano. “You were almost kersplatted.”

“When you say it like that, you kind of sound like Roger Rabbit.” 

“Trixie my daughter loves that movie.” Chloe nudged a broken piece of piano with her foot. “Ten years on the force, and this is a new one.”

Lucifer stared at Faith intently. “You could have died.” He started looking around frantically. “Is the number 88 around here anywhere?” He took hold of her, like he was still trying to shield her from falling pianos. 

“Lucifer, I’m good,” Faith protested.

“You didn’t mention a piano in your vision,” he hissed in her ear.

“Because there wasn’t one.”

“Lucifer, Faith’s okay,” Chloe assured him. “It was a freak accident, but thanks to you, we’re all fine.” The Devil took a breath and reluctantly released Faith.

A man ran out of the church. He was dressed in a pair of ratty work clothes. “Thank God you all are all right!” he exclaimed.

Lucifer gave the man an incredulous look. “Don’t thank Him. Thank me.”

The man stopped and took a breath. “We’ve been trying to remove that piano for forever, and my buddy had the crane today, and I am so, so sorry.”

“Are you Guy Jones?” Chloe asked.

“Yes.”

“LAPD.” Chloe flashed her badge.

“We have permits,” Guy assured her.

“This isn’t about the piano, Mr. Jones. We contacted you about Adam Hart Ministries.” 

Recognition washed over Guy’s face. “Yes, of course, come in. Just, uh, watch your step there.”

“You’re going to clean that up, right?” Chloe wanted to know.

“Yes, of course. We’ll take care of that.” A couple of the workers were already on the scene, starting to pick up the pieces of the shattered piano.

“Terrible waste of a piano,” Lucifer noted.

“Top floor was full of ‘em, kind of like a piano graveyard. I don’t know how they even got them up there, most of them were gutted,” Guy explained as they walked into the church.

“Detective,” Lucifer coughed not so subtly. Chloe turned to face him, and he attempted to mimic plucking a piano string and strangling someone with it.

“Oh, you think the piano wire that strangled Levasky came from one of these pianos?” Faith interpreted. The Devil shot her a look. “Sorry.”

“Strangled?” Guy sounded shocked. “I thought this was about the Harts?”

Chloe regarded her consultants for a moment before turning her attention to the minister. “Mr. Jones, did you know a Dr. Angelo Levasky?”

Guy mulled it over. “He wrote some books, right?”

“He also had dealings with Adam Hart Ministries, and he was very critical of them, as were you.”

“You used to be partners with the Harts. What happened?” Faith asked.

Guy took a breath and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m not proud of the way things ended with the Harts. I was younger then, and I didn’t handle myself in the best way.”

‘Didn’t turn the other cheek far enough?” Lucifer quipped.

“It was an honor to work with the Harts, to partner with their ministry. I was trying to grow my own congregation, and it seemed like a natural fit. It felt like where God wanted me to be, but . . .”

“But you had concerns?” Chloe pressed.

“I felt like sometimes it was more about the show, and less about the message. I also questioned some of David’s expenses, felt the money could have been used elsewhere,” Guy explained.

“Less on ranches and more on starving orphans?” Lucifer cocked his head.

“Listen, the Adam Hart Ministry does great work, don’t misunderstand me. I just, wanted a simpler way to get the word of God across, so I left. It was a complicated break. And yeah, I was very judgmental at first, came across rather Holier Than Thou.”

“Did David Hart or anyone with the ministry pressure you to stop talking?” Chloe was very direct.

Guy took another breath. “No, the robbery woke me up more than anything else.”

The three of them exchanged looks. “What robbery?” Faith asked.

“Our ministry had saved up to buy this building to fix it, and eighteen months ago we were robbed. Robbery took place the night before we were going to the bank, and we lost most of the money to get this project started. I realized then I’d been paying attention to the wrong things. It didn’t matter what I said about David Hart. I needed to refocus my energies. I rededicated myself to the ministry, we were able to raise the money again, and now I’m meeting with a stained-glass artist at 2:30. God sent me a clear message, and I listened.”

Lucifer scoffed. Chloe took a calculated step closer. “Mr. Jones, do you have any reason to believe David Hart was behind the robbery?”

Guy didn’t answer automatically. When he did speak, he picked his word carefully. “I would hope not. I’d like to believe he wasn’t.”

“Not very high praise, there, for your fellow man of the cloth,” Lucifer pointed out.

“I’m not gonna bash David Hart, if that’s what you’re looking for. I’ll just say, he’s a complicated individual. I wish him nothing but the best, always.”

Chloe nodded. “What are your impressions of his family?”

“Melora is lovely, and Adam is something special. They’re the salt of the Earth, really. I didn’t get to know the other kids too well.”

Chloe looked up. “Other kids?”

“Yeah, Guillermo and Victoria. David brought them back from his outreach ministry in Colombia. They were already teenagers. He didn’t officially adopt them, but he rescued them from a bad situation, saved their lives.”

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Jones. Best of luck with your restoration. Contact me if you think of anything else.” The Detective handed him her card.

“I will, Detective.”

“Yes, and do keep better track of your pianos,” Lucifer remarked. He turned to follow Chloe.

Faith reached over and touched Guy’s arm. “The stained-glass window is going to look great right there.” She pointed at the back of the building.

“Yeah, I was thinking about that myself. How’d you know?”

Faith shrugged in reply and hurried after Lucifer and Chloe. “How does David get two kids out of Colombia without going through the proper adoption channels?” Chloe wondered.

“He buys them. It’s fairly common,” was Lucifer’s response. He was about to open the door but closed it again as Faith joined them. “Can you walk outside and not get crushed by a piano?”

Faith rolled her eyes. “That was one time.”


	16. The Devil at the Revival

“I still think the other minister was covering up the murder weapon right there on the street.” Lucifer straightened his shirt cuffs as they walked up to the Harts’ barn. They’d had to park a ways back. Apparently, there was quite the crowd today.

Chloe sighed. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but sometimes pianos just fall from the sky.”

Lucifer scoffed. “So, you don’t think the wire came from the myriad of cast-off pianos he had on hand?”

“No,” Chloe and Faith replied at once. They looked at each other.

“Great, you two are mind melding, that’s just what I need.”

Chloe stopped walking and turned to face Lucifer. “Guy Jones had no motive to kill Dr. Levasky.”

“I’m starting to think the dear doctor found a way to tie the wire around his own throat. Have we considered that possibility?”

Chloe took a breath and pressed on. “You just don’t want to go to the Harts’ service.”

“Of course, I don’t want to go to the Harts’ service. I haven’t kept it a secret,” Lucifer insisted.

“No one’s keeping you here against your will,” Chloe pointed out. “You can call an Uber and hightail it back to Lux, but some of us are taking this seriously.”

“Yeah,” Faith backed her up. Lucifer made a face.

“Hey, you guys!” Ella Lopez called as they reached the entrance to the barn. She was her usual, exuberant self.

“Ms. Lopez, what are you doing here?” Lucifer asked.

“We can use all the eyes we can get,” Chloe explained. “Ella graciously volunteered to help.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to one of these things.” Ella gestured back to the barn. She was practically bouncing out of her skin. “Oh, hey, Faith.” She gave the girl an aggressive hug. “Nice clothes.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“Lucifer, looking sharp as always.” Ella attempted to give him a hug, but the Devil skirted around her.

“Ah, no. Don’t, uh, want to wrinkle the material.” He pointed to his shirt.

“Got it” Ella smiled. “Lucifer and I like to play this game where he pretends to hate my hugs, but secretly he loves ‘em,” she told Faith.

“That is a fun game.” Faith reached over and tried to hug Lucifer, and he bounded forward.

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but get me inside that barn.” 

Mrs. Hart was there to greet them at the door, like she’d been waiting for them, or at least one of them. “You came back.” The woman looked directly at Faith. “It’s uh, so good to see you all again,” she extended to the rest of them, but it was Faith’s hand she took. “Please, uh, make yourselves at home. I can arrange for you to sit up front,” Mrs. Hart offered. 

“No, we’re not front pew people,” Lucifer hastened to reply. “This, uh, dark corner in the back will work just fine.” He peeled off from the group and took a seat in one of the back rows. 

“Well, thank you for coming.” Melora gave Faith’s hand a squeeze before she pulled herself away and headed to the front.

Ella joined Lucifer. Chloe watched Faith for a moment. “You’ve made quite the connection with Mrs. Hart.”

“Uh, yeah, it happens with some people.”

“That’s a useful skill for a detective to have,” Chloe told her. “If you get a hunch, a gut feeling, roll with it.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll know when you feel it. Trust me.” Chloe joined the others in the pew and Faith followed. 

Ella clasped her hands on her knees and leaned forward. She was beyond giddy. Her feet bounced on the ground and her fingers drummed against her legs. Lucifer watched her. “Have you got a vibrator in your pocket? Why can’t you sit still?”

“I’m so excited for the experience. Church, I love it.” Lucifer looked a little sick. Ella didn’t seem to notice. “Any kind of church, whether it’s a big one or a small one, or down by a river. I just love the message, you know? And I love watching people as they receive the message, when all that peace and love washes over them. Synagogue, mosque, yurt, it doesn’t matter. This is my first time in a church barn, though. Oh, I am so stoked!”

Lucifer looked over at Chloe. “Switch seats with me.”

“What? Why?”

“Switch seats with me,” he insisted.

Chloe gave in and traded places with Lucifer so that he was seated next to Faith and she was beside Ella. David Hart was checking some things on stage as they prepared for the service. An older boy in a nice suit walked up to him, and David stopped what he was doing to give the boy a hug and a clap on the back. The young man certainly looked like he’d been born and mostly raised in Colombia. “Ella, who’s that?”

Ella looked up. “Oh, that’s Guillermo, David’s adopted son.” The forensic scientist pulled an older magazine out of her purse. She opened it to a marked page. There was a story in it on the Hart family, and they were all pictured together, Mom, Dad, Adam, Guillermo, and another girl. “David Hart brought Guillermo and his sister Victoria back from Colombia. They were being forced to work for a cartel, bad stuff.”

Chloe’s eyes scanned the room, but she didn’t see Victoria anywhere. “Where’s the sister?”

“Oh, she won’t be here. Victoria got into some serious trouble last year, stealing, that kind of thing. Family tried to keep it hush hush,” Ella divulged. “Black sheep, that kind of thing. There’s one in every family.”

“I represent that,” Lucifer remarked. He was only half paying attention to them as he texted on his phone.

“Oh, me, too! High five!” Ella reached over Chloe and held her hand up for Lucifer.

Lucifer rolled his eyes and halfheartedly tapped her hand. Ella’s mood could not be altered, though. “All right.” She put her hand down, still all smiles.

Chloe ran her tongue across her teeth as she thought. “Did you say Victoria got in trouble for stealing?”

“Uh, yeah, robbery.”

“Huh.” Chloe turned the magazine in Ella’s lap over to the cover. It was a copy of God & Family magazine, and it was dated twenty months ago. It also had a sticker on it from the local library. 

“Okay, I know I took the magazine, but you asked me to do a little digging, so I did. I’m going to return it, I promise.” Ella looked up at the ceiling. “I promise.”

Lucifer shot Ella a glance. “Oh, He doesn’t care that you nicked a magazine.”

“I do, and I’m going to return it,” Ella persisted.

Chloe held her hand up. “No, it’s not that. This story was printed twenty months ago, right before the robbery at Guy Jones' church.”

“What was that?” Ella leaned closer to Chloe.

“Just, uh, trying to connect some dots.” Chloe sat up a little straighter in the pew. “Let’s find out everything we can about Guillermo and Victoria when we get back to the station.”

“You got it, boss.”

Melora came out from the back to tell David something, presumably that Adam was ready. David nodded and left Guillermo. Melora reached out and tried to touch the older boy’s arm, but he jerked away and walked off. Melora recovered quickly and masked her face.

“What was that?” Chloe wondered.

“Some weird family dynamic,” Ella conjectured.

Chloe looked back at the picture in the magazine. Guillermo was seated beside Melora in the picture, and she had one hand on his knee. “They certainly look happy in this picture.”

Lucifer snorted a laugh beside them as he sent a text. “Who are you texting?” Chloe wanted to know.

The Devil took a picture of a hymnal and sent it off. “Amenadiel. We play this game, guess where I am. He’s going to enjoy this one.”

“You know we’re not supposed to have phones out, right?” Chloe pointed to one of the several no phone signs that were posted around the barn.

“Yeah, I saw that and chose to ignore it.” Lucifer picked up a Bible and took a selfie with it. His face in the photo was less than thrilled.

“Lucifer, put your phone away,” Chloe instructed.

“Oh, hold on.” Lucifer leaned over to Ella. He snapped a picture of the family photo in the magazine. He cropped the photo to just show Adam. “What about this boy? Miracle?” he typed and sent the text with the picture.

“What do you think I am? A miracle repository?” Amenadiel texted back.

“Yes. Otherwise what good are you?” Lucifer replied.

“Give me a minute,” was Amenadiel’s response.

“Sir, you’re going to have to put your phone away,” a rough voice spoke from beside them. They all looked up at the barrel-chested man in the security shirt. The man pointed to the nearest sign.

Lucifer opened his mouth for what was sure to be a smart-ass retort. Chloe flicked his leg as a warning. “Yes, all right, very well.” The Devil pocketed his phone and the man walked off. “What kind of church has body builders for security? Not very welcoming, if you ask me.”

The lights in the room dimmed as the lights on the stage at the front of the room got brighter. Lucifer looked at the lights overhead. “Oh, good, that will make it easier to nap.”

“We’re not napping,” Chloe hissed at him. “We’re watching and learning.”

David Hart took center stage. He had donned a very impressive white robe. “My brothers and sisters, welcome, welcome to the House of the Lord. You honor us with your presence. You honor yourselves. Above all, you honor the Almighty.”

“Oh, I wish I was drunk right now,” Lucifer lamented.

“You all have come here today seeking something. I know because I was once you. Ten years ago, my son Adam had a terrible accident. The doctors told me he’d never recover. They told me to move on. They said, ‘Give up, David.’ But I didn’t. I stayed by my son’s bed every day and every night, and I prayed, I prayed to the Lord to give me a sign. And it didn’t happen right away. That’s not how faith works.” There were exclamations of agreement throughout the congregation. “Faith is a long game, and you have to stay in it, completely invested, every step of the way. So I sat, day after day and I prayed. And then one day, a year later, the Lord gave me a sign. He said ‘David, pull the plug.’ Now, the doctors had been telling me to pull the plug on Adam for months, but they weren’t who I was supposed to listen to. I was waiting to hear from my God, and when He gave me those instructions, I listened.” 

David took a dramatic pause as he brought a single chair to the edge of the stage. “And what happened next, was a true miracle, a testament to our God and His awesome powers. Adam lived. Adam breathed on his own again. Adam left the hospital and came home with us. My son is an angel.”

“Highly unlikely,” Lucifer commented, and Chloe shushed him. “What? There hasn’t been another, celestial being for millennia.”

Melora led Adam out onto the stage. An awed hush fell over the crowd at the boy’s appearance. “My son was healed by the Lord, and now he can heal others. Our Lord God moves through him. If you have an ailment, an affliction of the body and soul, come forward and be healed!” David guided Adam gently to the chair and helped him sit. The boy stared straight ahead, never once looking at anyone or anything.

“Bit creepy, that,” Lucifer observed. He looked over at Faith. “You’ve been oddly silent. What are you –?”

“I need to go up there,” she told him.

“What?”

“It’s a gut feeling thing. This is my best chance to get close to Adam,” Faith explained.

“Right.” Lucifer nodded. He made an executive decision. He stood and pulled Faith up with him. “Lady in need of a cure, coming through!” He pushed Faith past the people on the other side of the pew.

“Lucifer, what are you doing?” Chloe whispered after him. It was too late; her partner was gone. She put her face in her hands.

Ella laughed. “Oh, this is gonna be good.”

Lucifer and Faith joined the growing line to see Adam. “Excuse me, can my friend go in front of you?” The Devil asked the person in front of him. “She’s only got hours to live, quite literally.”

“Oh, yes, of course.” The woman switched places with them.

“Thank you.” Lucifer pushed Faith forward.

“Lucifer,” Faith admonished.

“What? You’re the one who insists you’re dying. There must be something inside you that needs curing.” Faith stuck her tongue out at him.

As they inched ever closer, they watched as David placed Adam’s hands on the sobbing, trembling people. It was less than a three count, and then he released them. They walked off crying and trembling even more. “I’m not sure this is gonna work,” Faith whispered to Lucifer. “That’s not a lot of time with Adam.”

“Right.” Lucifer looked around. He noticed a small, sound booth at the back of the stage. “See that sound booth?” He inclined his head.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Grab Adam and take him back there. Hopefully, that will buy you enough time.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Just grab his hand when the moment is right,” Lucifer insisted.

“What are you going to do?” Faith asked. They were almost to the front now. David and Adam were right there. 

“Cause a scene.” Lucifer turned to the lady behind him and demanded her attention. “Listen to me closely, I have reason to believe the Devil is in this barn today.”

“What? The Devil?” The lady looked frightened. “But he, he can’t come in a church without bursting into flames.”

“He’s not a vampire.” Lucifer leaned in closer to her. “He’s a trickster, very good at disguising himself as the common man, or woman. He could be anyone here.” The woman took in a sharp breath and clutched at her chest. Lucifer started to point around the room. “He could be that man, or her, or that ginger child there. Oh, wait, I think I see him right there!” Lucifer pointed straight behind her, the woman whirled around and screamed in the face of the man behind her. She took her purse and gave him a good wallop. 

“Lady, what are you doing?!” the man wanted to know.

“Out, Satan! Out!” The woman gave him an extra whack and turned back to face Lucifer.

“Oh, my mistake. That wasn’t him.” Lucifer quickly flashed his eyes and smiled. 

The woman screamed a side-splitting scream. “Devil!” she screeched and ran straight ahead, taking anyone in her way out with her. Her panic bubbled over and instantly spread through the whole church. There was pandemonium in seconds flat. 

“What is going on?!” David wanted to know. 

“Oh, no, not the Devil!” Lucifer called into the chaos. 

On their way to get out, a couple stumbled and bumped into the stage. David lost his footing and tumbled off. 

“David!” Melora hurried to check on her husband.

Faith seized her moment. She clambered onto the stage, grabbed Adam’s hand, and pulled him with her to the sound booth. It was very cramped in there with the equipment and a piano shoved against the wall. The boy went willingly, but Faith wasn’t sure he was aware of anything that was going on around him.

Faith pulled the boy to his knees and sat down in front of him. “Hi, Adam. I’m Faith. I heard a word the other day, you may know it. Aba, do you know that word, aba?” To her surprise, he turned to look at her. His slack, facial expression never changed, but he was looking straight at her. She took his hand gently and just held it. A moment later, she smiled and leaned back. “That’s a nice looking future, Adam.”

There was a loud crash out in the room, and Adam gripped Faith’s hand. “You are in there,” she told the boy.

Lucifer popped in to join them. “What’s going on out there?” Faith asked over the shouting.

“Some of my best, albeit easiest work.” The Devil started to kneel but was distracted by the piano. “Oh, hello, that’s a lovely piece.”

“Lucifer.” Faith motioned for him to get down. They could get caught any moment.

“That’s a vintage beauty. I’d love to tickle her ivories.”

“Lucifer.” Faith tugged on his pants.

“Fine.” The Devil knelt in front of Adam. “Hello there, Adam.” The boy turned his head and looked at Lucifer. “Little unsettling, when you stare at me with your dead eyes like that.”

“They’re not dead eyes,” Faith protested. The boy was still holding to her hand tightly. “It’s like he’s got a wall up or something in his brain.”

“Well, let’s see if this gets through.” Lucifer stared at him intently. “Tell me, Adam, what is it you desire?”

The boy’s throat contracted, like he wanted to speak, but no words came out. The hand that wasn’t holding Faith’s reached out, gripping at the air. At that moment, Melora Hart found them. “Adam!” she called out. She bent down next to her son and he grabbed hold of her. He let go of Faith’s hand and held onto his mother even tighter.

“And there’s my answer,” Lucifer surmised. "You want your mum."

“What are you all doing with him?!”

“I, uh, didn’t want him to get hurt or anything,” Faith fumbled to explain. She started to get up, but Adam reached out and placed his hand on her arm. “Or I can stay.”

Melora took a breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just, Adam isn’t comfortable around a lot of people. My fault. I’m too protective, but I almost lost him once. I was by his side the entire time at the hospital. Not even David . . .” She stopped herself.

“But he was there the entire time, too, right?” Lucifer pressed.

“Yes, of course,” Melora hurried to recover. 

“What are you all doing here?!” David stumbled upon them. Adam let go of Faith’s arm and sunk into his mother. “You, two!” His eyes landed on Faith and Lucifer. “I don’t know how, but I’m sure you’re to blame for this.”

“David,” Melora chastised.

“Melora!” David shouted back at her, and the woman’s resolve instantly melted. “Get Adam out of here.” He turned his attention to the others. “And you can both leave. You’re not welcome anymore.”

“I thought everyone was welcome in the church?” Lucifer quipped.

“Get off my property,” David insisted. He was livid.

“When you say it like that, you sort of sound like my Father.” Lucifer turned to leave. “I’ve been kicked out of far better places than this.”

Faith followed Lucifer. “What did you see?” he asked her.

“Adam running and laughing with his mother and singing.”

Lucifer nodded. “I think you’re right about that wall, and I’m not sure Adam is the one controlling it.”

The chaos had spilled out of the barn and into the outdoors as the congregation hurried to get into their cars and speed away. Chloe had been trying to contain the stampede, but it was no use. “LAPD! Calm down!” she shouted for the umpteenth time. 

“There’s no containing this, Chloe, this is a category five chain reaction.” Ella watched as several cars almost hit one another. “No, don’t back up you’re gonna hit that tree!” It was too late, though, the driver of the car couldn’t possibly hear Ella. Fortunately, the Cadillac the woman was driving was formidable. She threw it into gear and sped off, leaving her bumper behind at the dented tree. “Ma’am, you forgot your bumper!”

Lucifer and Faith stepped out to join them. “Well, this looks like fun.” He surveyed the quickly emptying parking area.

“You!” Chloe turned on him. “What was that in there?!”

“Panic, paranoia, your usual church emotions.”

“I know you started this.” Chloe pointed a finger at him. 

Lucifer pulled his phone out of his pocket. Amenadiel was calling him. “Excuse me, Detective, must take this. Faith will explain it to you.” He hurried away from the barn.  
Chloe made a move like she wanted to strangle him. She looked at Faith. “Explain what?”

“The Harts are lying about Adam, or at least his Dad is.”

“Do you have any proof?”

Faith faltered. She couldn’t really tell the Detective about her future visions. Chloe would never believe her. “It’s a gut feeling.” Faith looked over her shoulder to see security walking their way. “But we better go.” She led Chloe and Ella away from the barn.

Lucifer had stopped under the tree the lady had hit with her car. He absentmindedly rested his foot on top of the bumper as Amenadiel talked. “Luci, are you at a church?”  
“I was at a church, brother, but I’m afraid I got excommunicated. Old habits, and all that. Did you get an answer for me on the picture I sent you?”

“I had to check with Azrael, but I remember the boy now.”

“Oh, the Angel of Death, how is our sister?”

“She went to collect the boy’s soul, but Father told her to wait. And then He sent me down to heal the boy,” Amenadiel explained.

“So, David Hart’s prayers paid off after all, I’ll be damned, if I weren’t already.”

“No, Luci, it wasn’t his father’s miracle. I was asked to bring Adam back for his mother.”

“That’s interesting.” Lucifer looked up to see Chloe heading straight for him. “Got to go, brother. The Detective’s rather peeved at me, I’m afraid.” Lucifer hung up his phone. 

“Something I can help you with, Detective?”

“You can start by explaining to me what that was back there.” She gestured back to the barn.

Faith walked under the tree and nudged the bumper with her foot. “Did you not explain it to her?” Lucifer gave the girl an accusatory look.

“What did you want me to say?” Faith threw her hands up in the air in frustration.

There was a cracking and splintering sound above them as a dead branch on the tree, further jostled by the wreck, finally snapped, and came loose. “Move!” Lucifer pushed Faith out of the way, but he wasn’t able to get out of the way before the branch struck him directly across the face. He collapsed to the ground.

“Lucifer!” Chloe shouted and ran to his side. She stepped over the branch and helped him sit up. There was blood running out of his nose at a steady pace. It was already clear there was going to be a lot of bruising around his eyes and nose. “Look at me.” Chloe took his face gently in her hands. “Yeah, okay, I think your nose is broken.” She took his pocket square and wiped at the blood under his nose. “Tilt your head back and pinch right here.” She positioned his fingers at the bridge of his nose.

“Oh man, Lucifer, I am so sorry.” Faith gaped at the branch on the ground.

Lucifer looked at her as best he could with his head in that position. “You’re a bloody death trap.”

“What are you sorry for?” Chloe asked. “The branch wasn’t your fault.” Faith wasn’t convinced. Chloe turned her attention back to Lucifer. She tenderly moved her hands over his face, trying to discern what else was hurt. Lucifer leaned into her touch, despite the pain. Faith gasped and they both looked at her.

“What?” Lucifer asked.

“Nothing.” She turned away from them awkwardly.

“I’m fine, Detective,” Lucifer assured her. “Just a little blood, and . . .” He stopped. Something felt funny in his mouth. “What the . . .” He pulled a tooth out of his mouth.

“Lucifer, is that your tooth?” Ella asked.

“Bugger.” The Devil spat a mouthful of blood into the grass.

“Okay, you need to go to the hospital,” Chloe surmised.

“No, Detective, I’m fine. And I know a chap who can fix me up, does wonders with implants.” Lucifer pocketed his tooth. “You, uh, you go back to the station, lots to process from the day for the case and all, and . . .” He looked over and saw Ella. “And Ms. Lopez can drive me to where I need to go.”

“My car’s super janky anyhow, it won’t matter if you bleed on it.”

“Even better.” Lucifer started to stand. He was a little wobbly and Chloe helped him. He took her hand and let his fingers linger on her knuckles. “I’m fine, Detective, I promise.”

“Put some ice on that.” Chloe pointed to his nose.

“I will,” he assured her.

“And go to a doctor!” Chloe insisted.

“I will.” Lucifer waved a hand back at her. “Let’s go, Ms. Lopez.”

“Thanks again for today, Chloe. It was even better than I thought it’d be.” Ella gave the Detective two thumbs up before leading Lucifer to her car.

“Come along, Faith!” Lucifer called after the other girl.

Faith looked at Chloe. “The Harts are lying about Adam, trust me.” With that, she turned and ran after Ella and Lucifer. 

“Thought I was a death trap?” Faith whispered when she caught up to Lucifer.

“Yes, but I can’t very well keep random things from squishing you if you stay here.”

The Detective watched them go. She sighed and kicked at the bumper on the ground. ‘This is a weird day.” And, given her life, that was saying something.


	17. The Doctor Is In

Dr. Linda Martin was just sitting down to enjoy her salad when there was a knock at her office door. She sighed. “It’s my lunch break,” she told the person on the other side. “There’s a sign on the door.”

“Never had much respect for signs, and I have a bit of a problem.” A bloodied Lucifer barged in, Faith in tow.

“Oh my gosh, Lucifer! What happened?” Linda left her desk and hurried over to him. “Are you missing a tooth?”

“She happened.” Lucifer pointed to Faith.

“A tree branch hit him,” Faith hurried to explain.

“You hit him with a tree branch? Wait, who are you?” Linda was confused, which wasn’t a completely new emotion when dealing with Lucifer and his relations. “Are you one of his sisters?”

Lucifer laughed. “No. Faith is a human I’ve made a deal with. She can see the future, sometimes, and she thinks she’s dying, which is why we’re here. Faith, this is Dr. Linda Martin, she’s my therapist, and she knows I’m the Devil.”

Linda took a breath. “Okay. This is a lot to unpack.”

“Lucifer, is this the doctor you’re going to?” Faith pointed at Linda. “She’s a therapist. She can’t fix your nose, or your tooth.”

Linda sighed. “I’ve told him this a million times. Lucifer, you need to go to the ER, or a walk-in clinic.”

The Devil examined his reflection in Linda’s mirror. He popped his nose back into place. It was audible and both women winced. “Damn that smarts!” he exclaimed. “But I think the bleeding’s stopped. Why do mortals bleed so much? It’s very inconvenient.” Linda handed him a box of Kleenex. “Oh, thank you, Doctor.” He started to wipe the blood off his face.

Linda no longer had an appetite for her salad. She turned her attention to Faith. “So, it’s Faith, right?”

“Yes.”

“Go ahead and take a seat.” Linda gestured to the couch. “Since you’re here now.”

“Okay.” Faith sat on the couch.

Lucifer looked at the heavy piece of art hanging over her head. He moved forward quickly and took it down, even if it exposed one of the numerous holes in Linda’s office wall. “Just to be safe,” he commented as he set it aside.

“What happened there?” Faith noticed the hole.

“He happened.” Linda gave Lucifer a look before turning back to Faith. “So, you came to Lucifer looking for a favor?”

“Yes.”

“And you suspected he was the Devil, or . . .”

“Oh, I knew he was the Devil.”

“And that didn’t bother you?”

Faith shook her head. “No.”

Linda looked surprised. “Okay. Um, what was the favor you asked for?”

“I needed help dissuading my boy . . .ex-boyfriend. He wanted to get me an engagement ring.”

“Why did you want to dissuade him?” Linda was curious.

Faith shrugged. “Because I’m dying.”

“See, there it is.” Lucifer pointed at Faith. “She looks perfectly healthy, right, apart from her lack of proper nourishment and waxy skin.”

“Hey!” Faith objected.

Lucifer continued. “And she’s - how old are you?”

“24,” Faith replied.

“She’s 24 and she thinks she’s dying. She’s even got a list, a bucket list.” He fished the list out of his pocket and handed it to Linda. “That’s not normal, right?” Lucifer discovered his tooth in his pocket and turned back to the mirror.

“Lots of people make bucket lists, Lucifer. It’s actually pretty common.” The Devil looked at his therapist as he secured his tooth back in its proper position. Linda cleared her throat. “That, on the other hand, is not common.”

“Did you just put your tooth back in?” Faith asked.

“Yes. I told you I’d be fine. I just needed time and distance.” Lucifer sat on the couch. “I promised the Detective I’d see a doctor, and I am. Oh, I also promised I’d put some ice on my face.” He looked at Linda expectantly.

“Uh, I don’t have any ice.” The Doctor got up and went to her mini fridge. “But I have this can of Diet Coke that froze on the top shelf.”

“That’ll work, I suppose.” The Devil took it and placed it on his nose. “Oh, that feels quite good, actually.” He leaned back against the couch.

Linda resumed her seat. “I’m struck by a lot of things here. Did you say Faith can see the future?”

“I can see flashes of a person’s future, sometimes,” Faith clarified.

“Wow. That’s different.”

Faith shrugged again. “Been this way since I was a kid, so it’s not that different for me. But you didn’t call me a witch, so that’s a good start.”

“People have called you a witch?” Lucifer looked at her over his Diet Coke can.

“I’ve been called a lot of things.” She gave him a small smile.

“Witches are cunning and fierce. They’re survivors. You should own that,” he told her.

“Can you see my future?” Linda asked, but instantly regretted it. “No, I’m sorry. That was rude. I imagine people take advantage of you all the time.”

“They used to. I don’t let them anymore,” Faith spoke firmly.

“Good for you.”

Lucifer sighed. “None of this is to the point. She thinks she’s dying, remember?”

“I am dying,” Faith persisted. “I had a vision of my own death,” she explained to Linda.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen your death?” the Doctor wanted to know.

“Yes and no.” Faith looked down at the floor, concentrating on her shoes. “I saw myself taking a bunch of pills once, but I didn’t. I ran away from home instead.”

“Was home bad?”

“My mom exploited me for money, so it wasn’t great.”

“But life is better here in LA?”

“Yeah, once I got a steady job and a place to live . . .”

Lucifer cut Faith off. “She doesn’t really have a life, Doctor. That’s the problem. I think she’s afraid of living her life, really and truly, because she doesn’t know what she wants to do with it. I think this whole; I’m dying bit is a desperate cry for attention. It’s, uh, avoidance, or denial, one of those words you toss out all the time.

Linda stared at Lucifer for a moment before turning back to Faith. “As uncouth as Lucifer can be, he brings up some fair points.”

Faith flopped back against the couch in frustration. “I AM dying. I wish I could explain it better, but I can’t.”

“She’s so obsessed with dying, it’s starting to manifest itself in the outside world, and things are literally falling from the sky, like pianos,” Lucifer pressed on.

“A piano fell out of the sky?” Linda was confused. “I thought that only happened in cartoons?”

“So did I,” Faith remarked.

“And branches, which smash me in my handsome and charming face.” Lucifer took the can off his nose and pressed at the skin tentatively. “Has the swelling gone down?” He looked at Faith.

“Eh, a little,” Faith decided. Lucifer scowled at her and left the couch to check his face in the mirror again.

“How does the thought of dying make you feel, Faith?” Linda asked.

The girl mulled it over for a moment. “At first I felt sad, then I was worried, but I realized neither of those emotions were gonna do anything for me, so I decided to focus on things I could control.”

“And you made a list?”

“Yeah.”

“What is this hideous poster? It doesn’t go with any of your décor?” Lucifer pulled their attention away from one another. He was holding up a CPR poster that hung near Linda’s mirror. Faith laughed out loud, thankful for the break in the mood.

“You mean my new, CPR infographic? I’m required to post that.”

Lucifer looked the poster over. “Oh, this is what you do to humans when they stop breathing, isn’t it?”

“Do you not have those posters at Lux?” Linda asked.

“Not ones that haven’t been ‘edited’, no.”

“Wait, is that what people draw penises on in the bathroom?” Linda considered her last time at the Devil’s nightclub.

“Among other things, yes.” Lucifer started to put the poster back but stopped. “And this CPR works on humans? Keeps them from expiring? Cheats my sister out of a visit?”

“Not always, but sometimes, yes.”

“Huh.” Lucifer looked at Faith out of the side of his eyes. He snapped a picture of the poster with his cellphone before hanging it back on the wall.

Linda took a breath and tried to get back on track. “Faith, it strikes me that you went to Lucifer for help. People who think they’re dying seek out answers from any number of sources. Some go to church. Some get drunk. Some go gluten free. Why Lucifer?”

“I knew he could help me, and I knew he was someone I could trust.” Faith’s answer was amazingly simple and direct. Linda kept an eye on Lucifer’s face as the girl spoke. There was tension in his throat, and that line across his brow that appeared anytime another person said something nice about him. Lucifer considered Faith for a moment before sitting back down beside her.

“So, you asked your favor, and Lucifer did his thing, and now you’re working through your list?” Linda was trying to get the sequence of events in her head.

“Yes, because she compounded her favors, which I normally don’t let people do, but I don’t often meet someone who . . .” His pause carried a lot of weight with it, and Linda suspected the answer he gave wasn’t what he really wanted to say. “Can predict the future, so color me intrigued.” Lucifer crossed his legs and leaned back on the couch. Then he had a thought. “Hold on, the bloke.”

“What bloke?” Faith asked.

“The bloke you were going to marry. That’s what this is about, isn’t it? You didn’t want to process your feelings for him, so you made up this whole dying thing. Or maybe you didn’t want to marry him and didn’t know how to tell him that, either. See, aversion, told you.” The Devil looked rather pleased with himself.

Linda leaned forward in her chair. “Do we know someone else here who averts their feelings?”

Lucifer just stared back at her. Faith pointed at him. The Devil noticed. “Me? I’m not the one on the couch here,” he insisted. “All right, I am on the couch, but it’s only because you have limited seating options.”

Linda’s watch beeped. She looked at it and turned it off. “Lucifer, I have a client in five minutes, but you all are welcome to set something up for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to work for me,” Faith announced.

“Are you sure?” Lucifer looked at her. “Because yesterday it was, ‘I only have 24 hours to live.’ Now it’s 48. Surely you’ve got another twelve or so in there.”

“It’s not an exact science,” Faith stressed. She felt like a broken record. She really hadn’t expected this much push back from Lucifer.

There was a knock at Linda’s door. “Piss off!” Lucifer shouted at the person on the other side.

“Lucifer,” Linda chided. She opened the door and looked out at her 2:30. “Give me just a minute, Jeff.” Linda closed the door and looked back at the Devil. “Okay, you gotta go.”

“But you haven’t convinced her that she’s not dying,” Lucifer protested.

“Lucifer, I can’t do that. Faith has to do that for herself.”

Lucifer groaned. “Then why did we come here?”

“Why did you?” Linda tossed the question back to him. She resumed her seat and looked directly at the Devil. “People search for answers when they’re dying, yes, but you know what else? The other people in their lives, they search for answers, too.”

Lucifer’s expression was cold and hard. “Believe me, Doctor, I know how death works.”

“From the outside, yes, but it’s different being on the inside, isn’t it? It’s different here on Earth,” Linda pressed.

Lucifer stood and straightened his jacket. “This has been a monumental waste of time. No offense, Doctor.”

Linda sighed and tossed her hand in the air. “No. Why would I be offended by that?”

Lucifer collected Faith’s list from the table and put it back in his pocket. “Where are we going?” the girl asked.

“To finish your blasted list. Maybe when we finish it, and you’re still alive, it will prove that I’ve been right all along.”

Faith rolled her eyes. “Is he always like this?”

“Yes,” Linda replied.

Lucifer looked at his therapist. “Maybe you should eat something, Doctor? Perhaps your blood sugar is low? That might help you get back in your groove.” Linda didn’t respond. "Right. Let’s go, Faith.” Lucifer made for the door and opened it. Jeff stood expectantly. “I’d give the good Doctor ten more minutes, Jeff, let her get a bite to eat. She’s feeling a bit peckish.”

“It was nice to meet you.” Faith reached out to take Linda’s hand.

“It was nice to meet you, too, Faith.” Linda stood and took the girl’s hand. Faith smiled. “What?”

“You’ll be happy,” the girl told her. She released the Doctor’s hand before Linda could ask anything more and left the room. Lucifer was out in the hall, reading a text on his phone. A coy smile played at his lips. “Oh, I know that look. That text is from Detective Decker, isn’t it?”

“What look? This is my face, albeit slightly more puffy than normal, no thanks to you.”

Faith decided not to press the issue. “Did we get a break in the case?”

“Yes, turns out the black sheep of the Hart family works at a local, ice cream eatery.” Lucifer showed her his phone. “And they just happen to have 27 flavors. I believe that takes care of the other two things on your list, murder and ice cream.”

“There are three more things on my list,” Faith reminded him.

“I’m not counting that last one,” he insisted. Lucifer pocketed his phone and headed for the elevators. “We check off those two boxes, and we prove I’m right before dinner.”

“Whatever you say,” Faith muttered.

Lucifer was beyond pleased with himself as the elevator doors opened. “Maybe I should be a therapist?” he mused as they stepped onto the elevator. Faith just stared at him as the doors closed.


	18. Which Flavor Tastes Like Murder?

“What are you doing? You’re never going to fit 27 flavors in one cup with those proportions.” The Devil scrutinized Faith’s ice cream cup as she added banana to it.

Faith gave him a look. She turned her body and hunched her shoulders, trying to block his view. “Uh, excuse me, focus on your own cup.”

Lucifer sighed. “I can’t because you’re doing such a poor job on yours.” Faith moved on down to the pistachio and Lucifer made an audible noise. “Were you raised in a barn? You can’t put pistachio next to banana. They are completely different flavor profiles.” 

Faith huffed. “Like you’re the expert on this.”

“I have done this before, thank you very much.” Lucifer walked over and took her cup. “Watch and learn.”

Faith watched him as he moved down the line of flavors with calculated precision. “So, this is what you do with eternity?” she mused.

“They don’t have ice cream in hell, so I made sure to enjoy it once I got here,” Lucifer explained. “Well, we do have a form of ice cream, but never mind, you don’t want to know.”

Faith’s eyes got wide. “No, I don’t.”

Lucifer completed his work of art and handed it back to her. The cup was almost spilling over, but it was manageable. “Here you are, one cup of 27 flavors, worthy of any bucket list.” 

Faith smiled. “Thanks, Lucifer.”

“You stand corrected, I know.” Lucifer repeated the process for his own cup and Faith rolled her eyes. 

As they walked up to the counter to pay, Faith told him to put his money away. “No, this one’s on me.” She pulled some of the cash out of her pocket and handed it over. “The least I can do is buy the Devil some ice cream, after how helpful you’ve been.”

“Oh, well, thank you.”

The confused and concerned cashier looked at the two of them. “The Devil’s a nickname I have for him,” Faith explained. 

“Because I am the Devil.” Lucifer smiled.

“Uh, here’s your change.” The young man slid the money across the counter. Faith picked it up and automatically deposited it in the tip jar. “Cool. Thanks.”

They started to walk off, but Faith stopped and took the rest of the $200 out of her pocket. She put it all in the tip jar. The cashier’s eyes went wide. “Wow. Thank you so much.”

Lucifer was about to object, but Faith pushed him back to the tables. “You’re going to regret that when you’re still alive tomorrow,” he told her.

Faith waved her hand to stop his protestations. “You know what we’re going to do?”

“What?” the Devil tentatively asked.

“We’re going to sit here and enjoy our ice cream.” Faith took a seat and proceeded to take a sinfully large bite from her cup.

Lucifer smiled and sat down beside her. He held out his ice cream cup. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.” Faith tapped her cup against his. They ate in companionable silence.

A few minutes later, the bell on the ice cream parlor’s door jingled. Lucifer looked up. “Oh, Detective! Do you want some ice cream?”

Chloe couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “Lucifer? What are you doing here?”

Lucifer licked his spoon and looked at her. “Waiting for Victoria to check in for work. We got here a little early to scope out the scene.”

“Should’ve said scoop out the scene,” Faith commented. Lucifer chuckled and pointed his spoon at her. 

Chloe took Lucifer’s face in her hands. There was still some swelling and bruising around his nose and eyes, but it was minimal compared to what it should have been given the injury he’d sustained. “Your face looks better.”

“I did what you said. I went to the doctor, and I put ice on it. Well, I put something cold on it at any rate.”

“Did you get your tooth fixed?” Chloe released him and stepped back.

“I told you I know a chap.” He smiled at her.

The Detective folded her arms over her chest. “I only texted you about this to keep you informed. Did you read the other part of my message that said, ‘Stay home and rest?’”

“I did go home to change my clothes and get my car, but now we’re here, ready to interview our newest suspect.” Lucifer devoured another spoonful of ice cream. “Really, Detective, you need to try this new flavor. It’s called Mountain Berry Blitz. Terrible name, but it tastes like a pomegranate and a star fruit had a love child.”

“How many pain killers are you on?” Chloe wanted to know.

Lucifer thought for a moment. “I took some Percocet earlier today, but that was before the whole branch incident.”

The Detective continued to stare at him. She swayed on her feet a little awkwardly. “Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better, but . . .” She stopped herself and looked away.

“But what? Come on now, Detective.” Lucifer smiled. “What were you going to say?”

“This is a little weird,” Chloe conceded. “You, sitting there, eating ice cream.”

Lucifer looked down at himself. “What’s weird about it? Is it my pocket square? I wasn’t sure about this pattern with this suit.”

“No, it just, doesn’t seem like you.” Chloe struggled to explain what she was thinking. She’d felt the same way yesterday at the arcade. What was it about Faith that brought out this seemingly normal side in Lucifer? A part of her envied it.

Faith watched as the sparkle in Lucifer’s eyes dulled. “Did you not think I was the kind of guy you could go and get an ice cream with?”

Chloe took a breath. “Not really,” she replied. She tried to laugh it off, when she saw the hurt in his eyes, tried to turn it into a joke. “You have three hundred ascots.” 

Lucifer looked down at the table. “I’m sorry I ever gave you that impression, Detective.”

Faith cleared her throat and pushed her cup away. “I’m gonna find the bathroom.”

At that moment, the back door opened and in walked Victoria Hart. “Jay, you left the employee entrance blocked again! What have I told you about that?! It’s a fire hazard!” she shouted at the young man behind the counter. 

“Victoria Hart?” Chloe asked, demanding the woman’s attention. 

“It’s Victoria Perez. And who’s asking?” she wanted to know.

Chloe held up her badge. “LAPD. We have some questions for you.”

Victoria turned and bolted back out the way she came. “Shit!” Chloe pocketed her badge and took off through the front. 

“Oh, I love it when they run!” The sparkle was back in Lucifer’s eyes. He looked after Chloe and then decided. He hopped the counter and pushed a stunned Jay out of the way.

“What do I do?!” Faith called after him. Lucifer didn’t have time to answer her. Faith sighed and sat back down. “I will sit here and hold this ice cream, apparently.”

Lucifer tripped over the boxes in front of the employee door. “Bloody hell, this is a fire hazard.” He knocked the boxes out of his way and stumbled out into the parking lot behind the business. Victoria was frantically trying to get into her car, which was a beautiful Lamborghini. Lucifer moved swiftly up behind her. “Lovely car.”

Victoria turned and screamed. Chloe came up the alley on the other side of her. “Victoria Hart, you can come with us the easy way or the hard way.” The woman looked back to realize she was boxed in. Chloe had her handcuffs out and at the ready. Victoria sighed and held her hands up.

A few minutes later, they were back in the ice cream parlor at two tables that had been pushed together. Victoria sat across from them, her body language the textbook picture of peeved. “What are your questions?” she sneered.

Chloe started to speak, but Lucifer held his hand up. “I’ve got this, Detective.” The Devil looked at Victoria. “Which of these flavors tastes like murder?”

“Murder, what? I didn’t kill anybody.” Victoria looked at Chloe. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” she insisted.

“You ran from us,” Chloe pointed out.

Victoria rolled her eyes. “You spooked me, brought back lots of bad memories.”

“Bad memories of when you used to run from the police because you were very much guilty?” Lucifer pressed.

“Yes, but I didn’t do anything this time. It was a gut reaction, survival instinct.” Victoria folded her arms across her chest. “I’m trying really hard to be a different person. I didn’t want to bring any of that in here.”

“Oooohhh, Victoria’s in trouble,” Jay snickered from behind the counter.

“You tell anybody about this, and I’ll tell management where you store the extra boxes!” Victoria spat back at him.

Lucifer stood up and took the tip jar off the counter, never taking his eyes off Jay once. “You, uh, can’t do that,” the cashier protested.

“You’ll earn it back when you shut your trap,” Lucifer assured him. “Buzz off.” Jay hung his head and retreated to the back of the store.

“So, you don’t steal anymore?” Faith asked Victoria.

“No. I go to therapy. I pay my bills. I do my probation. You can look it all up, call my caseworker.”

“We’ll follow up with him,” Chloe assured. She pulled up a picture on her phone and showed it to Victoria. “Do you recognize this man?”

Victoria looked at the picture of the minister Guy Jones. “Looks familiar, but we get a lot of people in here.”

“Have you ever heard of The Little Church on the Corner?” the Detective added.

Victoria visibly swallowed. “Yeah, they used to partner with – with the Harts.”

“Eighteen months ago, Guy Jones’ church was robbed. That was right before you were arrested for your burglaries. Did you also rob his church?”

“No.” Her answer was quick and fervent.

“But you did nick some snacks and booze from the local 7-11.”

Victoria looked at Lucifer. “Yeah, I did all the other stuff. I’m the bad egg, the black sheep. Poor lost kid who grew up in the cartel, only to be rescued by a wholesome, All-American Christian family. But she can’t seem to adjust, so she lashes out, steals things. If I had David’s marketing team, it’d be a bestseller.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re not a featured player in the upcoming Hart family biography,” Lucifer quipped.

“Do you talk to them anymore, the Harts?” Faith asked.

Victoria scoffed. “What do you think?”

“What about your brother, Guillermo?” Chloe wanted to know.

Victoria faltered a little and there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. “He adjusted better than I did. He’s one of the good kids.”

“And he’s still on the inside.” Lucifer’s tone was softer.

“I’m doing pretty well for myself on the outside,” Victoria insisted.

“I think you’re doing great,” Faith encouraged.

“You must be doing something, that’s a beautiful ride you have out there.” Lucifer nodded his head to the employee parking lot.

“I earned that car.” Victoria put her hand down on the table with emphasis.

“Was it a gift from the Harts?” Chloe pressed. “Did they give it to you for a reason?”

“They told me to take it and never look back, and I haven’t.” Victoria swallowed thickly. “I earned that.” She leaned back in her chair, all defiance, and hard edges once more. “Anything else?”

“Yes, do you know this man, Dr. Angelo Levasky?” Chloe showed her another picture on her phone.

“Never seen him before in my life.”

That was not the answer Chloe was hoping for. “All right, Victoria, we’ll follow up with your case worker. Don’t leave town.” The Detective stood and pushed in her chair.

Victoria scoffed again. “Where am I going to go?”

The three of them left the ice cream parlor, but only after Lucifer reluctantly returned the tip jar. “What are we thinking, Detective?” he asked once they were outside.

Chloe shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“What’s wrong?” Faith asked.

“We’re 48 hours in, and we still don’t have a prime suspect. Do you know the statistics for solving a murder after the first 48 hours? They’re not good. Every hour more is a chance we lose.”

“But I know the Harts are lying,” Faith protested.

Chloe took a step towards the younger woman. “Faith, I appreciate your gumption, but we need more than a gut feeling.”

Faith turned away in frustration. Chloe chewed on her bottom lip. “There’s got to be something we’re missing, a question we’re not asking.” She looked at Lucifer. “I’ll see you all back at the station.”

“Yes, Detective.” Chloe walked off, still very much in her head. Lucifer turned to check on Faith. The girl was clearly agitated.

“I should tell her.” Faith started to take off after Chloe, but Lucifer stopped her with his hand on her arm.

“She won’t believe you, and it won’t hold up in court.” Lucifer looked back inside the parlor at Victoria. “What about her? Did you have any future flashes?” 

Faith shook her head. “No. Why didn’t you do your thing?”

“Because I know what she desires, not to see her family again, and that I understand.”

Faith clamped down on the scream that wanted to escape her throat. She curled in on herself and squatted, staring at the ground. She felt like if she untucked, she’d fly apart. “It’s like when I was a kid, and I’d see stuff, but I couldn’t stop it, or no one would believe me. What’s the point of knowing if you can’t change it? I’ve asked that question all my life and I – I still don’t know. And a man is dead, and there’s a murderer out there, and I don’t think Adam Hart has a choice in the part he plays, and what, is the point of knowing if you can’t do a damn thing about it?!” 

“You said yourself that Adam’s future looked happy,” Lucifer reminded her.

“But it doesn’t always turn out that way. My visions have changed before. What if we don’t find the right clue? What if I fail him? What if us standing here doing nothing is changing that future?!” Faith tried to breath, but it felt like her throat was caving in.

“Faith, Faith, look at me.” Lucifer’s voice was calm as he knelt before her. “Faith, I said look at me.” She looked up into his face. It was the most earnest she’d ever seen him. “No one knows the point. You’re not going to get an answer. Scream into the void as much as you want, but don’t expect it to answer you back. It’s a void, darling.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” 

“We trust the Detective. We trust the work.” Lucifer stood and Faith slowly unfurled and followed him up. “We go back to the station and we review the evidence again.”

“What if that’s not enough?”

“We have to trust that it is.” Lucifer gently touched her shoulder. “All right?”

“Okay.” Faith took a deep breath. “Yeah, let’s go.” She wiped at the tears that had started to form in her eyes.

They began to walk, but Lucifer stopped. “This is odd.”

“What?”

“Me, being the rationale one.” He laughed. “Usually it’s the Detective talking me down.” Realization hit hard and fast. “Oh, this is why she rolls her eyes so much. I thought she wore off brand contacts, or something like that.” Faith rolled her eyes and the Devil pointed at her. “Yes, something like that. Do you wear off brand contacts?”

“Come on.” Faith took Lucifer’s arm and led him to the car.


	19. W.W.D.D.

The table in the conference room was covered with files, all the info the Internet had to offer on Dr. Levasky and Adam Hart Ministries. The only part not covered with paper was the very end of the table, where Lucifer was draped, staring up at the ceiling. Chloe, Dan, and Ella moved around the table, trying to make some sense of what they were looking at. Faith hung back, unenthusiastically playing with the clacking balls from Detective Decker’s desk. She was fairly sure Lucifer had given her the object to placate her, to keep her from telling the LAPD that she could see the future. 

“Again, I think the first minister with all the pianos in his belfry was very suspicious,” Lucifer voiced.

Dan gave the Devil some serious side eye. “Most of those pianos were gutted, we checked. Turns out the old saloon hid booze in them during prohibition.”

“Huh.” Lucifer considered it. “Maybe I should take some off his hands for Lux?”

“Get off the table.” Dan swatted at him with a paper. “We’re trying to work here.”

Lucifer rolled over, ready with a comeback, but he saw Detective Decker’s face. She nodded to the floor, and he complied, sliding off the table and standing up. “Should have added mindless tedium to your list,” Lucifer muttered to Faith. The girl sighed and sent the balls clacking again.

Chloe knit her hands behind her head and stretched her back. “What are we missing?”

Ella sighed and looked down. “I don’t know, Chloe. The Harts spend a lot of money, yeah, but they also support a lot of worthy causes and help a bunch of people. I’m not saying they’re perfect, but they’re pretty open about everything. They share their lives in books, in videos, in blog posts.”

“There aren’t cameras on them all the time,” Faith commented. “There’s who they are when people are watching, and who they are when people aren’t.”

“That could be said of any of us,” Dan added.

“It’s different when you have to perform,” Faith continued. She could see clearly in her head how her Mom used to act when paying costumers came to their house and how she acted after they left. “When you have to be a caricature.”

“Are you okay, Faith?” Chloe asked.

“She’s fine, Detective,” Lucifer assured. “Long day.”

Detective Decker looked back at the table and sighed. She shook her arms and hands out. “Okay, let’s run it again from the beginning.”

Chief Monroe opened the door to the conference room and stepped in. Her expression was serious. “Are you still working the Hart angle?”

“Yes, Chief, but I think we’re close,” Chloe spoke. Her voice didn’t have its usual gusto, though.

“You’re not close, Decker.” The Chief stepped forward and eyed the table. “When I gave you all this case, I said discretion was paramount. Now you’ve not only frustrated the Levasky Foundation, but you’ve also aggravated Hart Ministries. That’s two, high profile organizations I have breathing down my neck now. I’ll give you to the end of the day on this Hart angle. If you’re not any further along, you’re dropping it.” The Chief stared them all down before walking to the door. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, Chief,” Dan replied.

“Yes, Chief,” Ella assured. Chloe only nodded.

Chief Monroe left the room and Faith was instantly on her feet. “She can’t do that, can she?”

“Uh, she is the Chief,” Dan pointed out.

“Lucifer . . .” Faith looked at him in desperation.

“I agree with the Detective.” Lucifer gestured to Chloe. “I think we should run it from the top.”

Dan tossed the papers in his hand in frustration. “We’ve run it every which way. Without a smoking gun, we don’t have anything we can pin to the Harts.”

Faith couldn’t take it anymore. “Aba, we have Aba.”

“Like the band?” Dan was confused.

Lucifer tried to stop her, but Faith was done. She brushed by the Devil and walked straight up to Chloe. “No, it’s a word Adam used to say, and I think he can say it again. He can run and sing and laugh. That boy in the chair, that’s not Adam.”

“How do you know this, Faith?” Chloe asked.

“Because I can see the future, and that’s what I saw when I looked at Adam. And when I saw Mrs. Hart the first time, I saw Adam talking to her and that’s what he said, ‘Aba.’” When Faith finished talking, the room was silent. Lucifer walked over and stood behind her, offering any support he could.

“Are you serious?” Dan laughed.

“Don’t you dare laugh at her!” Lucifer turned on Detective Espinoza.

“Aba,” Ella spoke up, silencing any fight that might have been brewing. They all looked at her. “Did you say Aba?”

“Yes.”

“That’s what Adam used to call his Mom, before the accident. Mrs. Hart doesn’t know why, but he did.” The forensic scientist held an article proof in her hand.

“She read it in the article then,” Dan protested.

“There’s no way she could have,” Ella continued. “This wasn’t run in the final print. When I asked the magazine for the story, I had to promise a lot of things, some of which I’m not proud of, to get the whole file.”

Chloe considered Faith. The girl was unflinching before her. The Detective looked from her to Lucifer, who stood behind Faith like a mountain of certainty. An unspoken acceptance of truth passed between the three of them. “We’re running it again from the top.” Chloe turned back to the table.

“You believe her?” Dan was shocked, and exhausted, and ready to go home.

“I said we’re running it again from the top.”

Dan looked at Ella. “What do you think?”

“I think stuff happens every day we can’t explain. You just gotta have faith.” Ella laughed out loud at her own joke. “Ah, see what I did there?”

Faith smiled and Lucifer squeezed her shoulder. “Congratulations. You get to experience your first precinct pizza order.” The Devil looked at Chloe. “We’re not getting ham and pineapple again are we?”

“Case first, pizza later.” Chloe was busy rearranging files on the table. “What do we know about David Hart?”

“Uh, born in South Dakota, married his high school sweetheart. Moved to California after a series of failed business attempts, he also tried to join the Army, and become an astronaut,” Ella surmised. “Tech industry brought him west, but he wasn’t super successful at that, either. It sounds bad to say it, but no one paid any attention to him until his son got hurt and he started talking about it.”

“He’s come a long way for a loser from Watertown, South Dakota,” Dan observed.

“Yeah, astronaut was a bit of a reach, though, so was tech guru. What do you call that?” Ella tried to remember. “A Napoleon complex?”

“What?”

“When you reach for something bigger than you?”

Dan shook his head. “I think you have to be short for that to work. David’s pretty average height.”

“Average,” Lucifer muttered. He walked up to the table, a new energy in his step. “An average man gains power and recognition.” Lucifer looked at Chloe. “It’s not a Napoleon complex, it’s a God complex. We have been looking at this wrong.”

“What are you thinking?” Chloe took a step closer to her partner.

“W.W.D.D.,” the Devil replied.

“What?”

“What Would Daddy Do,” Lucifer clarified.

“Why are you so – you?” Dan wanted to know. Chloe shushed him as Lucifer started to rearrange the files on the table.

“If I’m my Father, I start with a miracle. In David’s case, his son got hurt. He starts sharing his story, it gains traction. More importantly, it gains donations. Adam survives, which is even better for him, because now he can profit from people’s addiction to hope, which sells better than drugs.” Lucifer held up a file. “What is this?”

“Church attendance records, donation reports,” Ella replied.

“The numbers go down in the third year. Why do they go down?”

“Adam would have been six,” Chloe figured.

Ella’s eyes lit up. “Oh, hold on.” She ran over to the computer in the room and pulled a video up on the big screen. “It’s hard to find this video anymore, but I have my ways.” In the video, Adam was much more active. He wiggled and squirmed, and he attempted to form words, but all that came out were half sounds. At one point, much to David’s frustration, Adam refused to put his hands on anybody and started to totter off the stage. 

“Adam had a lot of therapy after the accident, like a lot. Doctors said his motor skills might come back, said he might eventually start to talk again, but no one knew for sure,” Ella explained as she closed out the video.

“So, they pull Adam out of the spotlight that year?” Chloe proposes.

“But no one wants to see average David, they want the miracle boy.” Lucifer cocked his head. “I’m my Father, and my progeny is not behaving according to plan. What do I do?”

“Guys,” Dan spoke up. “Dr. Avery started working for the Harts the next year, right when Adam turned seven.”

Lucifer had his answer. “I find someone who can help me control him.”

“Wait, you think David Hart is drugging his son?” Ella asked.

“Adam was a steady presence with the ministry from the time he was seven years old on,” Chloe observed.

“And you think Mama Hart is going along with this?” Ella didn’t want to ask, but she had to.

“I don’t think she knows,” Faith spoke up.

“David likes people he can control.” Lucifer thought on it for a moment. “Melora, raised in a conservative household, father was probably a backwoods preacher, am I right?” He looked at Ella expectantly. 

The forensic scientist fumbled to find the magazine she was looking for. “Damn, you’re good.”

“I know.” Lucifer smiled before turning back to the table. “David had his wife where he wanted her from day one, and now he’s got his son where he wants him. The ministry grows. He does enough good deeds to cover the bad, classic Dad.”

“But there are outside forces he can’t account for, people who don’t agree, partners who break away.” Chloe pointed to a picture of Guy Jones.

Lucifer closed his eyes and thought. “W.W.D.D.?” He took a breath and opened his eyes. “I invest in ways to make sure I stay in control, but David can’t banish people to the desert for 40 years. He can acquire enforcers, though.”

“Victoria and Guillermo.” Chloe hurried to find the file pertaining to the older kids. That seemed to jog Ella’s memory and she pulled out her phone.

“That’s a real stretch,” Dan protested.

“Um, guys.” Ella held up her hand. She was looking at her phone. “My phone was on silent because I took a power nap in the break room at lunch time, and I don’t know about you all, but I cannot sleep if I know my phone could ding at any second.”

“Ella, what is it?” Chloe encouraged the other woman along.

“Oh, yeah. I just checked my email and my contact from Colombia got back to me. Victoria and Guillermo were stuck in the Florez family cartel, which is notorious for using orphans for small jobs like stealing and cleaning up crime scenes. They were also home to . . .”

“Constantine Martinez,” Dan finished for her. “Who was known for strangling his victims with piano wire. He was arrested three years ago, cartel turned on him, made sure he got caught, but Victoria and Guillermo would have known him.”

“The Hart outreach in Colombia specializes in helping kids with PTSD related to the drug war,” Chloe observed.

Lucifer gave a rueful laugh. “Oh, this is too good. David plucks these children from the cartel, his good deed to cover the bad. He tells them he’s their savior. That’s how he controls them. It’s so my Father.”

“And, forgive me for saying it, they’re expendable,” Chloe added. “If they get caught, you can blame their behavior on their terrible past. None of it sticks to David.”

“Again, classic Dad,” Lucifer repeated.

Ella scrunched up her face. “I’m not sure I like this metaphor, because I’m pretty sure you’re equating God with your Dad, and also with David.”

“David isn’t God. He just thinks he is. And if this doesn’t mesh with your touchy-feely version of the so-called Man Upstairs, Ms. Lopez, allow me to reacquaint you with the Old Testament.” Lucifer ran his hands over the evidence on the table. “Fairly certain the message of those 929 chapters is, ‘Do my bidding or there will be consequences.’”

Chloe looked at a picture of Victoria. “Like being excommunicated from the family. Do we know where Guillermo was the night Dr. Levasky was murdered?”

Ella fished around the table to find what she was looking for. “Uh, David, Adam, and Dr. Avery were at an event in Las Vegas. They took the Hart’s private plane because long car rides are hard on Adam. The plane stayed at its tarmac all night. I checked with the airport.”

“And Victoria was home. Her roommate vouched for her,” Dan added.

“Did Guillermo stay home with Mrs. Hart?” Faith wondered.

“I don’t think so. There’s something off in their relationship, but why?” Chloe tucked her hand under her chin and considered the table again. “Did we get any video footage from the hotel the Harts were staying at?”

“Just the front camera. Back one was out,” Ella explained.

Lucifer straightened up. “If I’m Dad - David, I know that already. I’ve asked because I have control issues.”

“I saw the three of them check into the hotel the day before, but they didn’t leave again until the next morning,” Ella replied, the weariness of watching hours of video footage obvious in her voice.

“Check it again, Ella, but look for Guillermo this time,” Chloe instructed.

“Okay.” The forensic scientist pulled up the footage on the screen and began to scroll through it again.

“I’d look in the 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. range,” Lucifer suggested.

“Oddly specific, but all right.” Ella scrolled ahead.

“Why?” Dan wanted to know. 

“Fours hour there, four hours back.” Chloe turned to her partner and the two of them shared a knowing look.

Dan watched them from across the table. “Can everybody be in on this psychic conversation?”

Chloe tore her eyes away from Lucifer and directed her attention to Ella. “Dr. Levasky died between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.” She took a step closer to the computer and watched over Ella’s shoulder. “Stop, stop,” she instructed as a time stamp read 7:15 a.m. A black car pulled up to the front door of the hotel and came to a rather jerky stop. “Can you zoom in?”

“Give me a minute.” Ella manipulate the screen.

When the video picked back up, it clearly showed a very distraught Guillermo. He hit the steering wheel several times before driving off in a hurry. “He looked upset,” Ella stated the obvious.

“Yeah, but where was David?” Dan wondered.

“He told Guillermo to pick him up and drop him off at the back door. But Guillermo was so upset on his way out, he forgot about the cameras, and he stopped. Question is, what was he so upset about?” Chloe folded her arms across her chest.

“We could ask him, if we hadn’t been barred from the Harts’ property.” Dan gave Lucifer a pointed look.

The Devil feigned shock. “I can’t help it that people were so passionate at that revival they ran away.”

Chloe shook her head. “I don’t think Guillermo’s at the Harts. We need to find him.”

“Do we have time to do that?” Faith asked. She felt the weight of the time pressing down on them.

Chloe had an idea. “Check the airports.”

Lucifer’s eyes lit up. “Yes, people run when they think you’re on to them.”

“They have a private plane,” Ella reminded them.

“But if you’re trying to avoid suspicion, you fly coach,” Lucifer assured her.

“Dan?” Chloe looked at her fellow detective expectantly. 

“Yeah, we’ll check the airports.” Detective Espinoza gave the table a final glance. “How did we get from there to here?” he asked as he left the room.  
Chloe took a deep breath and let out a whoop. “Detective, are you all right?”

Running off pure adrenaline, she turned to Lucifer and held up her hand for a hi-five. Much to her surprise, he returned it without a second thought. Their fingers caught, and Chloe held onto him for a second. He didn’t seem in any hurry to let go. Chloe took a breath and looked into those dark, brown eyes she’d come to depend on. As much as a pain in the ass as Lucifer was, he was always willing to listen to her when no one else would.

“Slightly blasphemous metaphor aside, that was amazing.” Ella stood up and made explosion motions around her head. Chloe released Lucifer’s hand the moment she started talking, but Faith had seen it all. “I mean, that was some epic back and forth there.”

“Well, it was the Detective’s idea,” Lucifer insisted.

“But we had to have the inspiration first.” Chloe looked at Faith.

Lucifer turned and looked at the girl, as well. “Yes. It appears you were right, Ms. Lopez. All we needed was a little Faith.”

Faith smiled, unable to speak. There was no way she could put into words what she was feeling. For the first time in her life, she finally felt at home in her own skin.


	20. A Smoking Flash Drive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note, I actually enjoy pineapple and ham pizza, but I understand it is a controversial pizza topping.

Faith took a bite of her pizza. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. Lucifer gave a pronounced sigh from his position across from her. “What’s your problem?”

“They ordered pineapple and ham again.” The Devil flopped back in his chair, almost to the point it tipped over.

“What’s your issue with pineapple and ham?”

“It’s the most popular topping in hell,” he informed her. “I’m over it.”

Faith considered her pizza for a moment. No, she was still going to eat it. “If you pick it off, it’s just cheese,” she told him before taking another bite.

Lucifer made a face. “I don’t pick things off my pizza. Who do you think I am?”

“You’re fussy, I know that.”

“I am not fussy.” He straightened his jacket. “It’s called sophisticated.”

Ella Lopez walked by where they were sitting for the third time. Like the other times, she didn’t stop, just gave them a friendly look and kept walking. “What’s she doing?” Faith asked.

“Getting up the nerve to come and ask you a question,” Lucifer observed.

“She probably wants to know if I can see her future.”

“Most likely,” the Devil agreed.

Ella started back their way but decided against it. She busied herself with a poster on the wall. “I’d wager five bucks she makes a fourth pass, but you gave all your money to that halfwit Jay at the ice cream emporium.” Lucifer smiled at Faith. The girl stuck her tongue out at him in reply.

Ella looked their way again, took a step, and stalled. “Oh, here she comes.”

“Shut up.” Faith threw her napkin at Lucifer.

Ella took another step. “Oh, come on, you can do it,” Lucifer teased.

Faith gave him a shove. “You’re the worst.”

“I’m the Devil. How else am I supposed to be?”

Before Ella could make her fourth pass, Detective Espinoza descended the stairs, Guillermo in tow. Everyone was suddenly on their feet. Dan escorted Guillermo into the interrogation chamber and shut the door behind him. “Have a seat. We’ll be right with you.”

“Where did you find him?” Chloe wanted to know.

“At the airport, like you said.”

“Did he ask for a lawyer?”

Dan shook his head. “He hasn’t said anything, but I think he saw us coming, and he sent a text before we got to him. So, you better get in there before David Hart and his entourage show up.”

“Yeah.” Chloe nodded to Lucifer and Faith who hastened to her. The three of them entered the room. As before, Lucifer let the Detective and Faith take the chairs. The Devil hung back against the wall, ever watchful.

“Do you know why you’re here Guillermo?” Chloe asked.

The young man shrugged. His face was an indecipherable mask. “I’m a legal citizen, if that’s what this is about.”

“We’re not ICE, Guillermo. We’re LAPD.”

On the other side of the door in the main room, Victoria entered the station. “Where is my brother? What have you done with him?” she demanded.

Dan cut her off at the pass. He recognized her from the case file. “Whoa, what are you doing here?”

"My brother texted me, said he was pretty sure you all were taking him in.”

“He texted you?” Dan was surprised.

“Yeah. First text I got from him in months.” Victoria took a breath. “Can I see him?”

Dan thought about it for a moment. “Come here.” He took her by the arm and led her into the room on the other side of the two-way mirror that looked in on the interrogation chamber.

“Where were you two nights ago, Guillermo?” Chloe asked.

“Doing something for the family, probably.”

“You weren’t at home?” she pressed.

“I don’t know. Can’t remember.” Guillermo shifted in his chair, but his facial expression didn’t change.

“You can’t remember two nights ago?” Lucifer scoffed. “I’ve been on three-day benders and can still remember every detail.”

“We have evidence that puts you in Las Vegas at the same hotel David Hart was staying at.” Chloe showed him the still shots from the surveillance videos. “This was taken that morning, the same morning Dr. Levasky’s body was discovered by his wife after he’d been murdered the previous night. Why were you in Las Vegas, Guillermo?”

“David forgot something at the ranch, so I brought it to him.”

“What a good son you must be,” Lucifer equipped.

“You look upset in the photo. Why were you upset?” Faith inquired.

Guillermo was silent for a second. “I was tired. It was a long drive.”

Victoria watched from the other side of the mirror. “This is what David does, he gets in your head. I mean, I was grateful to leave the cartel, it was no picnic, but I don’t know that we were saved. He told us we were, though. Told us we would stay saved and loved if we did what he said. And we were so desperate for love.”

“Did David ask you to steal for him?” Dan folded his arms across his chest as he watched her.

“Not at first. No, that was me. I didn’t adjust well, that’s true. I slipped back into old habits, but David told me it was okay. He forgave me. God would forgive me,too. He didn’t turn me in, so I thought everything was good.” She took a breath. “Then he asked me to rob that church, and I said no. He told me it was okay, that God wanted me to rob it, but I still said no.”

“And then he turned you in for everything else?”

“Yep.” Victoria looked away and wiped a tear from her cheek. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my brother.” She took a shaky breath. “As long Guillermo was with them, I wasn’t gonna say anything, because I didn’t want him to get hurt.”

“Do you think David would hurt him?”

Victoria looked at Detective Espinoza. “I think David’s capable of anything, as long as he thinks it’s God’s will.”

“Do you think Mrs. Hart knew about any of this?” Dan pressed.

Victoria shook her head. “No. She’s in denial so deep, I don’t think she’ll ever get out, and Adam’s like a ghost.”

“What about your sister?” Chloe asked inside the room. “Do you talk to her?”

Guillermo shifted in his chair again, but his mask had yet to crack. “She’s not part of the family anymore. We don’t talk.”

Victoria put her hand on the glass. “He doesn’t want to get me in trouble, probably didn't think I'd come. We haven’t talked in a year.” She leaned her head against the glass. “No, mi hermano, tell them. You have to tell them. Don’t let David do this to you, too.”

“Detective, we don’t have time for this.” Lucifer leaned over the table and looked Guillermo directly in the eyes. “Tell me, Guillermo, what do you desire?”

The young man struggled to stay silent. “I – I . . .”

“Go on, you can tell us,” Lucifer insisted.

Guillermo suddenly broke. The mask he’d been maintaining cracked, and he let out a long sob. “I don’t want to be this person.” He began to cry in earnest. “I never wanted to be this person.” Lucifer leaned back, as usual, the answer he was looking for was bittersweet.

“Guillermo, did you kill Angelo Levasky?” Detective Decker was direct.

He shook his head. “I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to do it.” He sobbed again.

“Did David Hart kill Angelo Levasky?” Chloe changed tactics.

“Yes,” Guillermo confessed. “I picked him up, we drove to the Doctor’s house, and he was begging for his life, and I . . .” Guillermo looked at his shaking hands. “I couldn’t do it. But David he - he killed him.”

“Did you clean up the crime scene after?”

“Yes,” his voice was small. “David said God would forgive me, said it had to be done. But I – I can’t get that man’s face out of my head, and I can’t look Melora in the eyes, and she’s the nicest person I’ve ever known.” Guillermo continued to cry. It was a painful, heartbreaking sound. “I didn’t want to be this person.”

“You’re not,” Faith assured him. “There is good in your future, Guillermo, I promise you.”

“Can I see my sister?” He wiped at his eyes. “Can someone call my sister?”

“Yeah, we can do that.” Chloe stood up. Lucifer took his pocket square out and willing sacrificed it to the crying youth.

As the three of them stepped out of the interrogation chamber, Dan and Victoria came out of the other room. “Guillermo!” Victoria brushed past them and ran in to see her brother. He sobbed as she knelt before him and took him in her arms.

“Where did she come from?” Lucifer wanted to know. “How many women are you hiding in there, Daniel?”

Dan ignored him. “She was the person Guillermo texted.”

Chloe looked back in the room where the siblings were still holding onto each other tightly. She nodded. “He wanted his family.” She closed the door to the interrogation room and asked another officer to stand watch.

“So, now we go after David Hart?” Faith asked. She was ready to make the arrest herself, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t allowed.

“Yes, we have enough for an arrest,” the Detective affirmed.

“We know how this is gonna go, Chloe.” Dan hated to be the bearer of bad news, but he’d seen this too many times before. “He’ll lawyer up, make bail, and then it’s his word against Guillermo’s. He’s not on the video getting into the car. There’s no DNA at the crime scene, which Guillermo admitted to cleaning. It will be a nasty, long battle in the court, and he’ll probably get off in the end. You saw what he was able to do to Victoria’s reputation.”

Faith couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “We still don’t have enough?”

“We have enough to arrest him, and that’s a start,” Chloe enforced.

Lucifer groaned. “I forget how complicated punishment can be for you humans.”

Dan looked at him. “You say the weirdest shit, man.”

“We arrest him and look for more evidence. There has to be something,” Chloe insisted.

Dan ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “We need a smoking gun, Chloe, anything that proves David Hart wanted Levasky dead.”

“Are you the detectives working my husband’s case?” a harried and frazzled voice spoke from behind them. They all turned to see Mrs. Levasky. She was extremely disheveled, and it looked like she’d been tearing her house apart.

“Yes.” Chloe moved towards her.

Mrs. Levasky held out a freezer bag. It had a flash drive in it. “I kept thinking, what kind of proof did Angelo have? Where would he put it?” She took a steadying breath. “I searched my house over and over, and then I found this in the garage, in the bottom of the tackle box.”

“Did you see what was on it?” Chloe asked as she put on gloves and accepted the bag.

“No, but I knew it had to be something important.”

Lucifer pointed at the device. “Would a smoking flash drive do?”

Minutes later, they were all gathered around the computer in the conference room as Chloe plugged the flash drive in. It pulled up one video file. That’s all that was on the device. It was a grainy, cellphone video, taken in what looked like a hotel bar. The phone seemed to be sitting on someone’s lap and filming up. Half of another figure was in the frame. It looked like Dr. Avery, Adam Hart’s personal physician. A conference name badge dangled from his neck, confirming his identity.

“I’m telling you, Angelo, it’s the easiest job there is. I should’ve left private practice years ago.” Dr. Avery laughed and took a drink.

“I thought Adam needed a lot of medical attention?” Dr. Levasky asked.

Dr. Avery scoffed. “All the kid needs is a little triazolam and some benzo – benza – I am too drunk for that word.”

“Benzodiazepines,” Dr. Levasky supplied for him.

“Yeah, that one. Give him a few shots of that, and he’s good to go. I gotta get to my room. I’m giving a talk tomorrow about the ‘miracle’ kid.” Dr. Avery staggered off his stool and Dr. Levasky hurried to stop the video.

There was silence in the room for a second as they processed what they’d just watched. “Triazolam, that’s . . .” Dan began.

“A sedative,” Chloe finished for him.

“They’re keeping Adam drugged.”

“That’s what Dr. Levasky knew. That’s what got him killed.” Chloe turned to ask Lucifer a question, but her partner was gone. “Where’s Lucifer?”

Dan looked around. Someone else was missing. “Where’s Faith?”

Out in the parking garage, Lucifer threw his car into reverse and floored it. He whipped the vehicle around but instantly had to throw on the brakes because there was Faith. “Lucifer, wait! I’m coming with you!”

Lucifer set his jaw and clenched his steering wheel. The girl swore she could hear it crack. “Faith, this is one place you can’t follow. I’m off to do the Devil’s work.”

“I know, but I need to see this through, too.” The desperation in her voice was heavy.

Lucifer unlocked the doors without looking at her, and she piled into the car. She didn’t say another word as he peeled off. The anger emanating from his very core was almost suffocating. Faith took a deep breath and hoped she was doing the right thing.


	21. And the Truth Shall Set You Free

The car came to a sudden stop outside the Harts’ home. Faith was shocked they hadn’t had armed guards posted outside the gates, but everything was very still and quiet. It didn’t sound right. It didn’t feel right. Lucifer ran up to the front door, Faith did her best to follow as closely as she could. “Stay out here,” the Devil instructed her. 

“Lucif . . .” she started to protest.

“I said stay out here!” he enforced. “You are painfully mortal.”

“But you . . .” The words caught in Faith’s throat as Lucifer kicked the door in with an amazing amount of force. It nearly came off its hinges.

Lucifer gave her a pointed look, and Faith decided to remain where she was on the doorstep. The Devil entered the dark house. “Hello? Anyone at home?” Faith watched him disappear into the darkness and everything was quiet again. The silence was suffocating, and the night air was dry. Faith swallowed and took a deep breath.

“Faith! Come here!” Lucifer’s voice called from inside. 

The girl stumbled into the dark house. It took her eyes a moment to adjust, but she was able to locate Lucifer in the living room. He was tending to a very groggy Dr. Avery. The man’s head had been struck with a heavy object, and there was a fair amount of blood on him and the rug. “What happened?” Faith asked as she knelt.

“David – he, he knows,” Dr. Avery struggled to speak. He tried to sit up.

“Where is he now?” Lucifer wanted to know.

The Doctor blinked several times, trying to remember. “He’s got Melora and Adam – I think he was going to the barn.”

“You stay with him until help arrives,” Lucifer instructed before running out of the house.

Faith looked after him, wanting to go with. She turned back to Dr. Avery. The Doctor closed his eyes again and swallowed hard. “Angelo’s dead because of me, isn’t he?”

“You didn’t hold the wire,” Faith told him.

“I might as well have.” Dr. Avery managed to sit up and lean back against the couch. Faith placed her hand on his arm in comfort as the two of them sat there in the silence.

Lucifer rammed his shoulder against the barn doors until they begrudgingly gave way. The lights were dim, but he could make out three figures sitting in the front pew. He strode confidently down the aisle and hopped on the stage. “What are you doing here?!” David Hart was instantly on his feet. His clothes were disheveled. His hair was a mess, and his eyes were wild. The man had looked better.

“Just popping in to check your piano,” Lucifer replied. He took careful note of Melora and Adam. She was holding her son tight and cowering behind David. “I admired it earlier,” the Devil confessed. He walked into the sound booth and pulled the piano out onto the stage proper. “Shame to hide it in that little room. Something wrong with it?”

“You can’t be here,” David persisted. “I kicked you out.”

Lucifer ignored him and opened the piano’s cover, revealing the keys. “It in need of a good tuning, or . . .” He played down the piano until his fingers hit a key that didn’t work at all. “Or is it missing something else, David, like a string?”

David took a step closer. His hands were shaking at his side. “Leave now, or I’ll . . .”

“You’ll what, call the cops and confess to murder?” Lucifer hopped back off the stage and slowly approached the man. “Guillermo has already told us all about that. He’s been very informative.” The Devil cast a glance to Melora. He could make out the bruises forming on her cheek, like someone had hit her.

“You’re not police. Who are you?!” David demanded to know.

Lucifer looked back at the man. “I’m the Devil, and I’ve come to collect what’s mine.”

David fumbled for a second. He took a step back, but then he decided to stand his ground. He planted his feet firmly, pointed at Lucifer, and shouted, “I cast you out!”

There was silence for a second and Lucifer laughed. “Was something supposed to happen?” The Devil took another step forward and David backed up, his legs hitting the pew behind him. “You forgot something, David. You’re not God, you have no power over me, and you don’t have any power over them.” He pointed at Melora and Adam.

David grabbed behind him, pulling a gun out from under the cushion on the pew. He pointed it directly at Lucifer. The Devil’s eyes lit up. “I knew you were an Old Testament kind of guy.” Melora sobbed and curled around Adam as much as she could.

“Lucifer!” Faith shouted. She was running down the wall. Her progress came to a sudden halt when she noticed the gun.

Lucifer groaned inwardly. What was the point of being the Devil if no one actually listened to him? “Faith, why don’t you take Melora and Adam somewhere safe?”

“They stay with me,” David hissed.

“Do they really need to see this, David? Is that what you really want?” Lucifer pressed.

David held the gun firm, but he didn’t make a move as Faith took Melora by the hand and led her and Adam out of the pew. “They stay in the barn!” David insisted. Lucifer gave a nod to Faith, and she took them into the sound booth and down, onto the floor.

David took a step forward and pressed the gun squarely in Lucifer’s chest. “You can’t do anything to me. I was doing God’s will. He blessed me, a long time ago, gave me a miracle, told me to spread His message.”

“It wasn’t your miracle, it was your wife’s, and you perverted it.”

David faltered for a moment, and Lucifer made to disarm him. The man recovered quickly, and he shot Lucifer in the chest. It did nothing, except annoy the Devil. “What are you?” David asked and his voice sounded truly afraid for the first time.

“I told you, I’m the Devil.” 

“Lucifer!” Faith ran out of the sound booth, alarmed at the gun shot. 

Lucifer watched as David turned his attention and the gun to Faith. “No!” the Devil screamed. As quickly as he could, he leapt to the stage and threw himself around Faith. It was fast enough to absorb the next two bullets in his back. Lucifer shoved Faith forward onto the floor and whirled back around on David. He knocked the gun out of his hand. It clattered onto the stage. Lucifer grabbed him by the throat, pulling him up on the stage and pushing him back against the nearest wall. 

Faith tried to process what had just happened. Lucifer had been shot three times, but he seemed fine. There was no blood, no evidence at all save the holes in his clothes.

“I grow weary of this, of you!” Lucifer tightened his grip around David’s neck, almost to the point of suffocation. “What is it you really desire, David?”

David gasped. “I – I . .”

“Go on and confess your sins.” Lucifer pressed him harder against the wall.

“Power,” David replied. And there it was. His eyes registered his mistake, and he tried to get his wits about him. “No, helping people, I meant . . .”

Lucifer silenced him. “First answer’s always correct. You do want power, power over those you perceive as weaker than you. Your wife, your son, Guillermo and Victoria. They were useful as long as they served your purpose, not God’s.”

“I he – lp people,” David managed to rasp out.

“But you also hurt people,” Lucifer persisted. “You use people, give them roles to play. This one’s the saint. That one’s the thief, the murderer. You made them think those were the only roles they could play. You drugged your son to keep him compliant. You brainwashed your adopted children.”

“God . . .”

“God didn’t tell you to do any of this, David, and He’s not here, but I am.” Lucifer’s eyes flashed red and David gasped in fear, choking on his own spit. 

“Lucifer,” Faith cautioned. The Devil let his eyes return to normal. He looked back to see Melora standing on stage, holding the gun. It was pointed at the floor for the moment.

“Is it true?” she wanted to know.

“I believe that question’s directed at you.” Lucifer released David’s throat. The man took in deep breaths and sank down the wall to the floor.

“Is it true?!” Melora asked again, her voice finally finding strength.

“Melora . . .” David rubbed his throat. “Listen to me . . .”

“No, it is true, David!” She raised the gun and pointed it at her husband. “I know it’s true.”

David held his hands up, a pleading look on his face. “Let me explain.”

“No! I have been blinded by you, by your words. I have willingly looked the other way, left the room when you told me to, and you – you drugged our son? You told Guillermo to kill for you?” Melora struggled with the emotions rushing through her. The arm holding the gun shook, and she used her other hand to steady it. “What kind of monster are you?”

“Melora,” Faith’s voice was calm behind her. “You have a future with Adam, I’ve seen it. You don’t need to do this.” She looked at Lucifer for help, but the glee on his face was unmistakable. The Devil was enjoying the scene before him. “You don’t want this, Melora.” Faith took a breath and pressed on.

Mrs. Hart took a determined step forward, her finger on the trigger. David Hart tensed, ready for the inevitable. “And I looked the other way.” Melora’s voice wavered. “What kind of monster does that make me?”

The sinister delight on Lucifer’s face melted away, like he was seeing what was happening before him through a new set of eyes. “You’re not a monster, Melora.”

“I can’t.” Melora sobbed and dropped the gun.

Adam stepped out of the sound booth. “Aba?” he asked, his voice unsure. His eyes looked clearer than they had in a long time.

Melora sobbed again and ran to her son. She took him in her arms. “Aba’s here, honey. I’ll always be here.” Adam wrapped his arms around his mother and held on tight.

“Faith, take Melora and Adam outside, would you?” Lucifer asked.

The girl nodded. “Come on.” She encouraged the two of them to leave the stage. Melora held Adam’s hand firmly in hers as they left. They didn’t even look back at David as they walked out.

David watched them go and hung his head. Lucifer kicked the gun off the stage, far out of reach. He looked down at the man on the floor. “You didn’t account for free will, David. The power of people to tell you no.”

The man slowly raised his head and eyed the Devil. “God has a plan for me. He told me. If I strayed, it was because of you.” David’s eyes lit up. He was forming a new plan. “You were the voice in my head, telling me to do those awful things.”

Lucifer scoffed. “The Devil made me do it? That’s your excuse?”

“It’s the only plausible reason . . .” David’s words were cut off as Lucifer surged forward and grabbed him again. He took the man by the throat once more and held him fast.

“You have free will, too, David, the power of choice. So, I ask you again, whose fault is it?” Lucifer’s eyes turned red. 

The man knew. Lucifer could see he knew, but he refused to accept it. “Yours,” he choked out.

“You are a piece of work,” Lucifer roared. “An insufferable, insignificant, cockroach of a human being.” He tightened his grip a little more, choking David in earnest. His thumb was right there, over David’s trachea. All he had to do was push in and it’d be over. “Angels aren’t supposed to kill humans. It’s Father’s first rule, but I’ve never been one to obey the rules. And He does have strong feelings about impersonating Him, so maybe Father won’t mind, too much, if I give you the punishment you deserve now?” The Devil was about to let his true face slip and finish the job when a familiar voice cut through the haze. 

“Lucifer!” Faith shouted from below. She had come back to check on him, but she hadn’t expected to see this. She didn’t recognize this man standing before her. He was anger and hate personified. It was terrifying, but Faith knew the other Lucifer was in there somewhere, and he was about to make a terrible mistake. “He’s going to have a horrible future, Lucifer, I promise you. It’s going to be dark, and cold, and he’ll be all alone.”

Lucifer’s eyes remained red, and his hand stayed around David’s neck. His face was still twisted in rage, and Faith could swear she smelled smoke. Was that what brimstone smelled like? The Devil wanted to reveal his face so badly, but he knew Faith was there, and he didn’t want to subject her to that. She was innocent, but she was also in his way at that moment.

“Lucifer,” another voice spoke, but it wasn’t Faith’s.

“Detective?” When had she gotten there?

“Lucifer, let him go. We’ve got him.”

Lucifer shook his head. “He’ll get off. He’ll find a way.”

“No he won’t,” Chloe protested. “It’s over. He’s finished.” She reached forward carefully and put her hand on Lucifer’s shoulder. The Devil seemed to melt under her touch. His eyes changed back, and all the anger slipped out of him. He released David, who fell to the floor once more. “We’ve got him,” Chloe assured her partner.

Lucifer took a breath and nodded. “Dr. Avery?”

“Medics are with him.”

“And Melora and Adam?”

“They’re fine, thanks to you all.” Chloe took out her handcuffs and knelt to secure David’s hands behind his back. “David Hart, you’re under arrest for the murder of Angelo LeVasky.”

Lucifer nodded, but he was oddly silent. “Are you all right?” Chloe asked him.

“Yes, Detective. It’s just - been a long day.”

Chloe couldn’t argue with that. She hauled David to his feet and led him off.

Faith watched Lucifer as they left. His face was a mix of emotions. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” he spoke at last.

“It’s okay,” she replied.

“No.” He shook his head. Lucifer walked across the stage, but then stopped. He was staring at the back wall.

“What is it?” Faith asked. 

“Your future vision, seems we may have changed it.” The Devil pointed to where the scripture lesson was posted for the coming day. It read Psalm 119: 8-88. Lucifer didn’t say another word. He descended the stairs and walked out of the barn. Faith lingered a few moments more before following.


	22. Bullfrogs, Sunshine, Fingers . . .

Lucifer was silent as they drove through the night. He was already on his second cigarette, and they had another twenty minutes to go before they reached Lux. Faith contemplated turning on the radio, but it would have felt like blasphemy. She wanted to break the silence, but not like that. “Those will kill you,” she finally remarked.

Lucifer gave her a sideways look. “You’re funny,” he quipped, but his voice was flat.

The silence started to creep back in, and Faith took a breath. “What’s on your mind?” she asked, not knowing what else to do. He didn’t speak at first, and for a second, she thought he wasn’t going to say anything at all.

“Collateral damage.” Lucifer took another drag on his cigarette. “All the people that get caught in the way.”

“Melora and Adam are free now. Chloe will find a way to help Guillermo, and he’s reunited with his sister.”

“We both know you can’t tie a pretty bow on psychological damage.” Lucifer gave her a rueful smile. And, yes, Faith knew all too well. She couldn’t argue with that. “Despite all his evil, David’s ministry was actually helping others. What happens to them?”

“There are other resources out there, Lucifer, led by actual, good people.”

Lucifer still wasn’t convinced. He finished his second cigarette and flicked the butt out into the night air. “David Hart was so certain he was right.”

“Doesn’t change what he did.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Lucifer took a breath. “That’s my point.” He was silent for a moment. “I was certain I was right, too, and we all know what that cost.”

Faith knew he was talking about something much bigger than the case. He was literally talking about heaven and hell. The girl shifted in her seat. She looked at her hands and picked at a nail, unsure of what to say.

“Do you know why I came to you?” she asked, turning to face him.

“You needed a favor.”

“Yeah, but it’s more than that. I saw you at the cheese festival, and I knew you weren’t human. People give off a certain feeling, but you were something different. So, I asked around, found out who you were, learned what you like to call yourself.” Faith ran her hand through her hair, but she never took her eyes off him. His body language was stand offish, but she knew he was listening. “I’d never put much thought in heaven and hell, just accepted it as fact and went on with my life. I knew you weren’t human, so I figured you had to be the actual Devil. And, yeah, there was a moment where I was afraid to approach you. But then I thought back to that guy I saw at the cheese festival, the one who was so gentle with the baby goats and spent half the day with them. And I knew you couldn’t be a bad guy.”

“I’m not a good guy either, Faith,” Lucifer protested.

“No,” she agreed. “You’re both.” Faith leaned closer to him. “But you’re not a monster. I knew that from the beginning. I thought to myself, what if the Devil never wanted to torture anyone? What if he didn’t feel like had a choice? What if he was trying to please someone else?”

Lucifer finally looked at her, and she saw the weight of the world in his eyes. “Because I know what that’s like,” Faith told him. “And it’s hell.”

For the briefest of moments, Lucifer felt understood. He looked back at the road and swallowed thickly. “You said David’s future was horrible, right?” 

Faith relaxed into her seat. The tension was broken between them. There was a small chip in Lucifer’s wall. He still had a lot further to go in forgiving himself, but it was a start. “Yeah, it looked awful. I think his cell is going to be terrible.”

“Well, that’s good.” Lucifer smiled and she smiled back. “Oh, congratulations on solving your first murder, by the way.”

“Thank you.” Faith still hadn’t properly processed it all. She was both relieved and saddened it was over. 

“That means your list is complete and you’re still here. So, I was right.”

Faith rolled her eyes. “Not my entire list, remember?”

“But . . .”

Faith talked over him. “I know, that last one doesn’t count.”

Lucifer watched her. “On the contrary, partner, I think we made a great team.”

Faith looked at him in shock. “What did you say?”

“You heard me.”

Faith squealed in victory as they pulled into Lux. “You can stop it with that noise, though.”

“Evening, Louis,” Lucifer greeted the giraffe as they stepped out of the elevator into the penthouse. The Devil walked straight to the bar and poured himself a large glass. Faith walked forward and touched the giraffe fondly as she stared out at the night sky and the city below them. Lucifer moved to join her, but the time on his Wonder Clock caught his eye. “Oh, it’s after midnight.”

Faith turned to face him. “And you’re still alive,” the Devil pressed on. He took a pointed drink, as if to say, “I told you so.”

“I never said I’d drop dead when my list was done, or at the stroke of midnight,” she countered.

“You’re going to have to face it, you’re living a long, full life. Question is, what will you do with it? Go to school? Return to the flavorless pastry shop? Inquire what it takes to join the LAPD?” The look he gave her was borderline hopeful.

Faith took a breath. It made her realize how very tired she was. “Can we talk about it tomorrow? I’m really tired.”

“Tomorrow, when you’re still alive?” Lucifer smiled.

Twenty minutes later, Faith was snuggled up in his bed, but only after he’d made her promise that she’d share the space. The Devil refused to sleep on his couch for a second night. “I’m not beyond giving you the boot in the middle of the night,” he assured her. 

Lucifer took off his shirt and inspected the bullet holes in it. Faith remembered the scene in the barn so well. He’d saved her life. “How are you still alive?”

“Immortal,” he reminded her.

“But you bled earlier when the branch hit you. It broke your nose, knocked out your tooth.”

“Yes, that.” Lucifer decided the shirt was beyond saving and discarded it. “It seems, I’m only vulnerable when the Detective is around.”

“Ooooh.” Faith’s eyes lit up and she pulled the covers up to her nose.

“You can stop that, whatever that is.”

“Oh, that explains it.” She pulled the covers back down.

“Explains what?”

“First of all, it explains your heart boner for her.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Not this again.”

“And her heart boner for you.”

“She does not have one for me,” Lucifer protested. He sat down on the bed with resignation. “And if she does, it’s not by her choice.”

“Why not?”

“Because my Father put her here in my path, ensuring we’d meet.” Lucifer looked away. Faith could see this upset him.

“But she also has free will, right?” Faith proceeded with caution. “So, maybe it’s her choice, too?”

Lucifer wasn’t willing to believe her. He stood and moved away from the bed. “What was the other thing you were going on about?”

“What?”

“When I mentioned my Detective influenced vulnerability, you said it explained something.” He looked at her expectantly.

“Oh, yeah, it explains why I could see your future right then.”

The Devil’s eyes got wide. He sat back down on the bed. “And you’ve been holding on to this fact how long?”

“Since the branch hit your face.”

“Why didn’t you bring it up?” he wanted to know.

“There was a lot going on,” Faith reminded him.

“I want to hear it, out with it!” Lucifer flopped onto the comforter, like a teenage girl who wants to have their fortune read at a slumber party.

“Okay.” Faith took a breath. “Bullfrogs, sunshine, fingers.” She smiled. “Peace.”

Lucifer was disappointed. “That’s it? That’s my future?”

“I told you I only see flashes, hear snippets of sound.”

“Can I have another one?” the Devil asked.

Faith hit him with her pillow. “No.”

Lucifer batted the pillow out of the way. “People used to pay you for this?” He was genuinely confused.

“Yes, and I should charge you double,” Faith insisted. “I think it was a shared future with you and Chloe. It happens sometimes when people have an intense connection.”

“And we’re back to that.” Lucifer rolled his eyes again and slid off the bed.

“For someone who doesn’t want to be with the Detective, you’re certainly concerned with her happiness,” Faith spoke as he walked off.

“I can’t hear you!” Lucifer shouted as he closed the bathroom door on her.

When the Devil returned to the room after his shower, he was certain Faith was asleep. He slowly crawled into the bed, but he wasn’t really tired. There was still an odd energy thrumming through his veins. Lucifer sighed and looked in his nightstand. Under the myriad of sex toys, he found the book he kept in there. He rarely ever read it.

“You can read in this light?” Faith asked after a moment.

“Bloody hell, I thought you were asleep.”

She shook her head. “No, I was thinking.”

“Is that why I smell smoke?”

She pinched his arm, even though it would do no good. “Rude,” he remarked.

“I was thinking about Noah,” she divulged.

“Oh, yes, the chap you broke it off with. You going to look him up now that you’re no longer dying?” Lucifer flipped through his book until he found the page he was looking for.

“I don’t know how I’d explain it to him.” Faith was quiet again for a bit, and Lucifer wondered if she had truly drifted off. “I was also thinking about my mom. I looked her up on Facebook. I know where she lives. I could go and see her.”

“You don’t want to do that,” Lucifer observed.

“No,” Faith agreed. “But I’ve always wondered, why she never came looking for me after I ran away?”

Lucifer considered it for a moment. “Maybe that was her gift to you, your freedom?”

Faith could accept that. She snuggled under the blankets a little further. Those other two thoughts paled in comparison to what was really bothering her. “Lucifer,” she spoke, her voice small. “Do you think I’m a good person?”

The Devil put down his book and looked at her. “Why do you want to know?”

“Because I’ve done bad things in my life. I’ve lied, stolen, pretty sure I’ve ruined a life or two. I might have ruined Noah’s life.”

“I do think you’re a good person, Faith, but it doesn’t matter what I think. That’s not how it works.” 

“What do you mean?”

Lucifer picked his words carefully. “People don’t end up in hell because they’ve done bad things. It’s because of their guilt. Do you feel guilty?” Faith started to answer, but Lucifer raised his hand to discourage her. “Think on it for a moment, and don’t confuse feeling guilty with feeling remorse.”

Faith took a deep breath. “I don’t feel guilty,” she told him.

“Then you have your answer.” Lucifer picked his book back up.

Faith watched him. “Greek Mythology,” she read the title of the book. “Not the book I thought the Devil would have in his nightstand.”

“You were expecting The Da Vinci Code, or The Exorcist?”

“Maybe.”

Lucifer smiled. “I suppose it’s all this talk about my Father, has me feeling a little nostalgic.”

“What do the Greek myths have to do with . . .” Faith propped herself up on her elbow. “Wait, are these myths based on you and your family?”

“Mum and Dad fought a lot during those years,” Lucifer explained.

Faith plopped back down, but she kept looking at him. “Does that make you Hades?”

Lucifer had never really thought about it. “I suppose so, if Hades was only in charge of Tartarus.”

“You know the best thing about Hades?” Faith yawned. She was very tired, and she’d fought off sleep for hours now. “How much he loves Persephone.”

Lucifer gave a small smile. “As I recall, his love for her set off an eternal winter, killing hundreds of people.”

Faith shook her head. “It also gave us the spring and fall, which are the best seasons.”

“All right, it’s bedtime now.” He pulled the covers up under her chin. “I’ll see you in the morning, when you’re still alive.”

“You going to watch over me all night?” Faith closed her eyes. “Like a guardian angel?”

Lucifer scoffed. “Hardly.”

Faith started to drift off to sleep when she heard a drawer open and close and felt a dip in the bed. She opened her eyes to see a mirror under her nose. Her breath spread across it in long, foggy streaks. “I’m still alive, Lucifer,” she assured him.

“I know,” the Devil replied, but he made no effort to move the mirror. Faith closed her eyes and went to sleep.


	23. Just a Piece of Paper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, this is an emotionally heavy and potentially triggering chapter.
> 
> I apologize in advance.

Faith opened her eyes at the sound of the alarm. The morning sun was bright, and she had to blink several times before her vision adjusted. It took Faith a moment to remember where she was. She wasn’t worried, though. She knew she was safe.

The girl yawned and stood up. She stretched. There was a weird taste in her mouth, and her head hurt. Faith swallowed and made her way out of the bedroom. Lucifer was in the main room, fighting with the Wonder Clock. “Infernal contraption,” he muttered. He smacked the clock until the alarm turned off and the time read right again. He set it down when he saw Faith, and the numbers flashed back to gibberish. “Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you. Forgot to turn the damn thing off.”

She yawned again and shook her head, trying to clear away some of the pain. “It’s okay.”

“But now that you’re awake, and still alive, we should get frittatas.”

Faith rolled her eyes, but frittatas did sound good. “We were so rudely cheated out of frittatas yesterday.” Lucifer walked to the bar to pour himself another glass. “We should ring the Detective and her spawn, see if they’d like to join us.” The Devil sounded giddy at the prospect. 

Faith slowly rolled her head on her shoulders. She felt like she could use another hour or month of sleep. She rubbed at her eyes and looked out into the room. She saw Louis, his golden, metallic skin shining in the sun. It was bright, and she had to look away, find something else to focus on. There was Lucifer, still at the bar, clinking ice into his glass. “Maybe we can plan your future?” he smiled at her over his shoulder. “I suppose I could find you work here at Lux until we figure something else out. Not table dancer, of course. I’ll think of something.”

The girl gave a slight smile, even though her head was pounding. She turned from him and looked straight ahead. There was that clock, and that could not be the right time, because it wasn’t even a time. Before the numbers could properly register in Faith’s mind, she felt a sharp, searing pain in her head. The pain gave way to an all-consuming fog, and then the only thing she felt was this odd sense of relief before the world went black.

Lucifer placed another cube of ice into his glass. He heard the unmistakable sound of wings behind him, and then a voice from his past saying, “Sorry, Luce.” In his glass he could see Faith falling. Lucifer dropped his glass and ran for the girl. He caught her right before she hit the marble. 

“Faith!” Lucifer shook her. She was limp in his arms, and her eyes had rolled into the back of her head. She wasn’t breathing. “Faith! Come on! Don’t make a liar out of me.”

The Devil looked around frantically. “No, this is not how it happens!” He set her down gently and rushed into the bedroom. He located his phone and returned to her side. Lucifer found the picture of the CPR poster and placed it before him. He situated Faith’s body, tilted her head back, and breathed into her mouth. “You don’t get to take her, Azrael.” He breathed into her mouth again. “You’ll bring her back,” Lucifer pleaded. “Bring her back.”

At the precinct, Chloe blew the steam from her cup of tea. She left the break room and returned to her desk. Someone had dropped a new memo off while she’d stepped away. The Detective picked the paper up and read it as she sipped her tea. It was about the department’s upcoming at-risk youth day. It had been postponed until further notice. 

Chloe had two thoughts, one, apparently this actually was a thing. And, two, hadn’t it already happened? Otherwise, why had Faith been with them the past few days? Lucifer never lied. This memo was further proof of that. “Hey, Ella, did you get this memo?” Chloe stopped the forensic scientist as she passed.

“Oh, yeah. Bummer. I was looking forward to showing the kids my blood test kits.”

“Faith was a part of this, though, right?”

Ella considered it. “Uh, pretty sure Faith’s a little old for that program.”

“Did the department send out any other info about this?” Chloe wanted to know. She couldn’t recall getting anything else on the program. 

“It’s been posted on the bulletin board for weeks. Am I the only person who reads that?” Ella indicated the cluttered board.

“Apparently not,” Chloe muttered. “Thanks, Ella.” The Detective left her desk and moved to the board. Sure enough, there was the notice. She could almost see her partner standing here and reading this, straightening his cuffs and formulating a plan. And no, Lucifer did not lie, but he had been known to put a creative spin on the truth. 

At that moment, Chief Monroe stepped out of her office, a large, beach bag slung over her shoulder. “Ah, Chief, a moment?” Chloe approached her.

“What is it, Decker?”

“The at-risk youth day’s been pushed back, right?”

“Uh, yeah. Insurance had some concerns.” The Chief looked through her bag, only half listening to Chloe.

“But Faith was a part of that, right?”

“Who?” She looked up at the Detective.

“The girl you sent out with me and Lucifer, on the LeVasky case?”

“Oh, yes. Great work on that by the way.” Chief Monroe found the sunglasses she was looking for and put them on her head. She shoved the top of her bikini back in the bag.

“How did you get approval for Faith?” Chloe wanted to know.

The Chief sighed. “Listen, Decker, I have somewhere I need to be. You have a good weekend, and I expect your report on the LeVasky case first thing Monday.” She smiled at the Detective, further shouldered her bag, and walked off.

Chloe looked back at the bulletin board. Who really was Faith? She wasn’t sure, but she hoped their paths would cross again. Her cellphone rang, and Chloe fished it out of her back pocket. “Decker. Whoa, Linda, slow down. What’s going on?” She hadn’t expected Lucifer’s therapist to be on the other end. As she listened, her eyes grew wide. “I’m on my way!” She hung up, snatched her keys from her desk, and left the station at a run.

When the elevator opened in the penthouse, Chloe was greeted with a somber sight. Linda approached her, sadness in her eyes. “I didn’t know what to do. He called me. I told him to call 911. I came right over, but he won’t let them . . .” Linda’s words trailed off. 

Chloe took in the rest of the room. A pair of frustrated EMTs stood off to the side. Lucifer was on the floor, desperately pressing into Faith’s chest, trying to get her heart to beat again, trying to get her to breathe again. The strain in his arms, in his entire body was evident. 

“I tried to get him to stop, Chloe, but he won’t. He won’t let her go.”

The Detective nodded and stepped around Linda. She approached Lucifer with caution and care. She slowly knelt beside him, beside Faith. The girl was pale. Her lips were blue. Chloe was sure she was gone. “Lucifer,” she gently spoke.

Lucifer shook his head and kept performing compressions. A bead of sweat fell from his face. “She was just talking to me. She was fine. She’s not gone,” he insisted.

“Lucifer,” Chloe tried again. She reached out to touch him. He flinched away from her, but he kept going.

“I can bring her back.” He gave Faith a breath and resumed his compressions. 

“You need to let the EMTs help her,” Chloe persisted.

Lucifer gave a rueful smile. “I know what they’ll say. They can’t save her. But I . . .”

“What if I take over? Give you a break?” she offered. Lucifer shook his head adamantly. Chloe moved closer. She reached over and placed her hands on top of his, pressing with him. “Lucifer, let me help.”

The Devil relented and slid back. Chloe took over for him. Lucifer sat there, panting and exhausted. He watched the Detective for a few moments. He looked at Faith. There was no life there. She was gone. He knew it. He’d heard it the instance it happened. “I can keep going,” Chloe told him after a breath. “Do you want me to keep going?”

“Let them do what they must.” Lucifer looked at the EMTs. He stood and moved away to the bar.

Chloe scooted back and let the EMTs in. One of them took over compressions. The other felt for a pulse. There was none. He opened the girl’s eyes and noticed the blown pupils. When he turned her head, her pupils didn’t move with her body. The second EMT shook his head at the other. She had stroked out. There was no coming back from this. The EMT administering compressions stopped. “Time of death,” the second EMT looked at the nearest clock in the room, the Wonder Clock, but it was not working. He looked at his watch instead. “Time of death, 10:32 a.m.”

Lucifer had followed the EMT’s line of sight. He noticed the Wonder Clock for the first time since he’d fought with it a few hours ago. When he’d set it down, it had been reading correctly, but that had changed. Now it was a jumble of numbers, but he could very clearly make out the 88.

“Lucifer, I am so sorry.” Linda moved to comfort the Devil, but he walked away from her, directly to the clock. He yanked it up, ripping its cord violently from the wall. The clock had battery power, though, and the 88 remained.

“Lucifer . . .” Chloe approached him. 

“Don’t.” Lucifer held up a hand. He took the clock and walked out onto the balcony, closing the door behind him.

Linda stepped up beside Chloe. “Give him a moment.”

Out on the balcony, Lucifer held the clock tightly. He looked up at the sky. Why?” he asked. “Why?!” he demanded. The Devil looked back at the clock, and for some reason he started to laugh. “This was a nice touch, Dad.” He shook the clock at the air. “Well done. What a lovely little trick you played.”

With a sudden shout, Lucifer dashed the clock on the balcony, shattering it into several pieces. He gripped the railing and tried to get some control over the emotions swirling through him. “Was I getting too comfortable, too secure? You had to send someone to remind me I’m poison to anyone I cross paths with? It’s not enough to put the Detective in my wake of destruction, you had to bring that girl, too, that quirky, infuriating, amazing girl.” Lucifer released the rail and took a breath. “What’s the point, huh?!” He looked back at the sky. “Why the Detective?! Why Faith?! Is there a lesson, or do you just delight in tormenting me?”

Lucifer began to run his hand through his hair, but he noticed his hands were shaking. “What’s the point of having emotions, when you don’t know what to do with them?” His chest was getting tight. It wasn’t only rage, there was something else mixed in. It felt like there was a trapped animal locked inside him, digging to get out. “Because I don’t want them. I don’t want any of them. These blasted emotions . . .what’s the point?!” He took a shuddering breath and gave the sky a final, broken look. “Why don’t you ever answer me?! WHY?!” Lucifer couldn’t stand it any longer, he turned and threw the chair closest to him.

Chloe had been moving out to check on him. His outburst stopped the Detective in her tracks. As the EMTs rolled Faith’s body away, she watched as the Devil proceeded to destroy his patio.

Hours later, everything and nothing had changed. Lucifer was still out on the wrecked balcony. Linda and Chloe were still there, watching him, waiting for the right moment to approach him. Amenadiel and Maze had joined them. Chloe insisted they turn on the TV, anything to keep them from all staring at Lucifer. He wasn’t a side show attraction for their amusement. 

“He’ll be all right,” Maze assured them. “Just put more furniture out there. He’ll work through it.”

“I’ve never seen him like this, Maze,” Amenadiel observed. “This is something else.”

“Like what?” the Demon wanted to know.

“It’s grief,” Linda supplied. “He’s grieving.”

Maze laughed. “No, Lucifer doesn’t grieve.”

Chloe’s resolve to stay inside was almost gone. She needed to go out there, to check on her partner. “We should at least take him sunscreen or something. He’s been out there for hours.”

“He doesn’t need it,” Maze and Amenadiel spoke at the same time. They looked at each other.

The elevator opened and Ella Lopez stepped out. All eyes turned to her, grateful for a distraction. “Oh, hey, everybody’s here.”

“Did you come from the hospital?” Chloe asked her.

Ella looked out at Lucifer with sympathy. “Yeah, poor Lucifer. Poor Faith. Preliminary report says it was an aneurysm, a bad one. Doctor thinks she’d had it since she was a kid, couldn’t believe it hadn’t burst before, or impacted her life in some way. It was pretty much instant death. There was nothing Lucifer could have done.”

“We should tell him.” Chloe moved toward the balcony but stopped. Lucifer was coming back in on his own.

He halted when he saw them all. “What’s everybody doing here? Surely you all have better things to do than gawk at me?” He smiled at them, trying to summon his usual bravado. “Detective, there must be a case that needs solving?”

“Lucifer,” Chloe’s voice was firm but compassionate. “Faith had a brain aneurysm, there was nothing you could have done.”

The Devil nodded. He could hear the girl’s voice in his head, telling him her mother had never taken her for any medical tests. “Ah, well, that’s a shame. Anyone up for frittatas?” He turned from them and disappeared into his room.

“What was that?” Maze asked. She’d never seen this side of her former master before.

“That is denial,” Linda observed. She took a step closer to the bedroom. “Lucifer, do you want to come by my office, first, talk about some things?”

“Like what, Doctor?” he asked from somewhere in his closet.

“Whatever you want to. Maybe about Faith and what happened today?” Linda pressed.

Lucifer stepped out, dressed and ready to go. He fastened his cuffs. “People die every day, Doctor. Speaking of which . . .” He looked at Chloe expectantly. “Do we have a new case, Detective?”

“Lucifer, I think you should take some time off,” Chloe advised.

“Why? I’m fine. Better than fine.” Lucifer grabbed his jacket and put it on with a flourish. “You all can go back to your lives, such as they were.” He reached in for his flask, but he pulled out a folded piece of paper instead. The Devil faltered and took in a sharp breath of air.

“Lucifer, what is it?” Chloe asked.

He took another breath before answering. “It’s – uh – just a piece of paper. Stupid piece of paper.” He instinctively crumpled it, but instantly regretted it. Lucifer quickly unfolded it. He had a painful, overwhelming need to fix it. Lucifer turned to the bar and spread the paper out. He tried to flatten it with shaking hands, but he couldn’t get it back to how it was before. 

“Lucifer . . .” Chloe tentatively stepped up to his side. She saw the writing on the paper. It was Faith’s list.

“I, uh, can’t get it to go back. I can’t fix it.” Lucifer sounded frantic. 

Chloe reached out to him, but he threw his arm up to discourage her. The movement caused a corner of the paper to rip. “No! I ruin everything I touch!” Lucifer pulled away from her, away from all of them. He stared at the wall and tried to compose himself. “It’s just a stupid piece of . . .” His voice faltered, and it was hard to breathe. He’d never felt this way before, this deep, hurting ache. He’d come close, once, when his Father had cast him out without a second glance and his Mother had done nothing, but even this felt worse than that somehow. He was suddenly aware of the tears on his cheeks. He was crying in earnest, and he didn’t know how to make it stop.

“What do we do?” Mazed asked. She took out her demon blade, sure someone needed punishment, but she couldn’t figure out who.

Lucifer turned around, his pleading eyes begging them to leave. Ella moved before any of them could. She walked right up to the Devil and threw her arms around his middle. Normally, Lucifer would fight her off, but he found he didn’t have the strength. Ella held him tighter, and he capitulated. He didn’t hug her back, but he relaxed, his arms hanging by his side. Linda walked over and hugged him on the right. Ameandiel was next, hugging his brother on the left side. Chloe didn’t know why she’d hesitated, why she hadn’t been the first to hold him, but she knew Lucifer’s usual aversion to such displays of affection. 

The Detective set her jaw and waked over to the group. She moved behind Lucifer and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested her head against his back, right where one of his unique scars was. She felt him lean against her, and she tightened her grip. 

Maze stood, unable to understand what she was seeing before her. The Demon tucked her blade away and slowly approached the group. She cautiously held out her hand and placed it on Amenadiel’s shoulder. It was as close as she was willing to get. 

A part of Lucifer wanted to claw his way out and away from them because it was all too much. But another part of him was grateful because it felt like their arms were the only things keeping him from flying apart. And the Detective was there, a steady presence at his back, and Lucifer knew she would never do anything to hurt him. Lucifer took another breath and for a brief moment, he accepted the love that was given to him.


	24. The Most Awkward Letter in the History of Ever

Maze eyed Lucifer as she finished her drink. It was early for a Saturday, and they were both several glasses in, which wasn’t out of the ordinary for them, but nothing was business as usual. It hadn’t been business as usual since Faith had walked in and then out of their lives. The girl had left them on a Thursday, and now it was Saturday, more than a week later. The roof and plumbing at Lux were repaired. The club looked as flashy and shiny as it ever had, but Lucifer hadn’t reopened it. Maybe he wasn’t feeling flashy and shiny?

“Anything special you want to do today?” Maze asked. She usually thought Lucifer talked too much, but that wasn’t the case lately.

“Just this.” Lucifer downed the rest of his drink and poured himself another.

“Okay.” The Demon followed his lead and drained the rest of the bottle.

The Devil watched her from the corner of his eyes. “You don’t have to keep hanging around. I know there’s a particular bounty you’re after.”

“Nope, I’m good,” she assured him. “I’ll get him eventually.”

“You really should stop posting that sort of thing on your Snapchat stories.”

“Says the guy who sends Snapchats from evidence lock up,” Maze countered.

“You’re just jealous because my stories have better props.”

She scoffed. “Hardly.”

Lucifer smiled a little and took another drink. The silence descended around them once more. Maze took a breath and twirled her glass on the bar. There was a question she needed to ask, even though she really didn’t want to. “Do you, uh, want to have a funeral for Faith, or anything like that?” She felt Lucifer tense up beside her, and she didn’t know what to do. Maze wished they could go back to talking about bounties and torture. She was out of her depth when it came to human emotions. She’d been in the weeds since that afternoon in the penthouse following Faith’s death, when Lucifer had crumbled before her eyes. 

The Devil took another drink, but he eventually answered her. “Faith left her body to science. For all her go with the flow, seems she did have an advanced directive.” He finished his drink and set the glass down with a heavy thud on the counter. “So, no reason to order a deli tray.”

Maze nodded. She really wanted to move the conversation to another topic, to anything else, but Linda had encouraged them all to get Lucifer to talk about it. “Linda, uh, said funerals are really more for the living than the dead, so we could still do something for her, if you want?”

Lucifer couldn’t bear to sit still and listen to her. He reached over the bar, fishing for another bottle. The Devil didn’t find exactly what he was looking for, but he found a decent substitute. “I’ll, uh, need to restock the bourbon before we reopen.”

“Celebration of life, I think that’s what Linda called it,” Maze continued, and the words tasted weird leaving her mouth. The Devil started to laugh. “What?” the Demon wanted to know.

“I never thought I’d hear you say those words.”

Maze started to laugh, too, and for a moment everything seemed fine. “What a ridiculous situation this is,” Lucifer suddenly lamented. His laughter stopped, and he took a breath. His sadness had the tendency to roll in like a wave, and Maze was still surprised as to how quickly it could crash down upon him.

“Do you want to fight? That always cheers you up,” she offered.

“No, thank you, Mazikeen. And I don’t want to hold a funeral, or a celebration of life, or whatever you want to call it. I just want to sit here and drink and remember Faith in my own way.” 

The Demon nodded. That made enough sense to her. Maze refilled her glass and raised it in the air. “To Faith,” she said.

Lucifer raised his glass and clinked it against hers. “To Faith,” he agreed.

They drank in silence, but it was a different type of quiet. This almost felt like something nearing resolution. “Go on, get out of here and hunt your bounty.” Lucifer nodded his head towards the exit. “I have a grand, reopening soiree to plan.”

“You sure?” Maze asked. She started to slowly slide off her stool.

“Are you Lucifer Morningstar?” a strange voice inquired from the top of the stairs.

“Who are you and how did you get in here?” the Devil wanted to know.

“I’m Jenna Harper, and your keys were in the door.” She held up a set of keys with a ludicrously fancy key fob. 

Lucifer had left his keys in the door? What a painfully human thing to do. The Devil had been slipping. “Well, this is embarrassing.” Lucifer took another drink and motioned for her to come down. “What can I . . .” His voice caught in his throat as he took in her attire. She was dressed like Faith, and she was carrying a shoe box.

“I have something for you . . .” she started to explain, but Lucifer cut her off.

“You knew Faith, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I was her roommate. She, uh, left this box when she moved out, told me to bring it to you if anything ever happened to her.”

Jenna extended the box, and Maze quickly drew her blade, pointing it at the human. She was no longer Lucifer’s official bodyguard, but she still felt honor bound to protect him, and this, this was something that would hurt him. “Whoa! It’s just a shoe box with some letters in it!” Jenna insisted.

“Down, Demon,” Lucifer whispered to Maze. 

Maze lowered her blade, but she continued to stare at Jenna. “Faith wanted me to have this?” Lucifer reached for the box slowly and took it in his hands like it might be a bomb ready to blow.

“Yeah, she was weird about a lot of things, but she was also right about a lot of things, and she was my friend. So, there you go.” Jenna gave Maze a final look before turning to leave.

“I’m sorry, for your loss.” The Devil’s words stopped her in her tracks. It was an absurd thing to say, but Lucifer felt compelled to say it nonetheless.

Jenna looked back at him. “I’m sorry for you, too. I can tell you knew Faith. She left an impression on people.”

“She certainly did,” Lucifer agreed. Jenna nodded, hurried up the stairs, and left.

Maze looked back at Lucifer. “Are you okay?”

He wasn’t sure, but he also knew he didn’t want her hanging around, looming over him. “I’m fine, Mazikeen. Go, get your man.”

“I’ll check in later.” The Demon pocketed her blade, downed the rest of her drink, and started to leave.

“I know you will. And don’t bring me anymore casseroles,” he called after her. “You have to tell Ella to stop.”

“They’re your human friends,” Maze reminded him before the door closed behind her.

“Why do people keep sending one pot dishes to me?” the Devil wondered as he set the box down. He hesitated before opening it, finishing his drink first and then pouring another. He made to open the box, but his hand was shaking. “It’s just a box, Lucifer, a size 7 ½ flat at that,” he told himself. “Just get it over with.”

Lucifer removed the lid as quickly as he could. The contents were sparse. There was a wallet size family photo with a young Faith, all smiles and missing teeth, sitting on her father’s lap. A woman stood behind them, hands on the man’s shoulder. The corner of the photo was folded over, obscuring her face. Lucifer lifted the corner of the photo. The woman must be Faith’s mother.

He set the photo aside and kept digging. There was also a bracelet in the box. It wasn’t real diamonds or anything, but it had clearly been worn a lot. Its clasp was broken. Under the bracelet was a green twist tie formed in the shape of a ring. “What am I supposed to do with this stuff, Faith?” the Devil wanted to know. It was just like her to leave him this odd little box full of random things. And then there were three letters. The first was addressed to Noah, the second was a name Lucifer didn’t recognize, but he assumed it had to be for Faith’s mom. To his surprise, the third letter was addressed to him.

Lucifer took a breath and carefully removed it. He hesitated a moment more before opening the envelope and pulling out the paper within. He unfolded the letter, took a long drink, and started to read. 

Dear Mr. Morningstar,  
Dear Lucifer,  
Hey Satan,

I’m not sure how to address this because I haven’t met you yet. This is the weirdest and most important letter I’ve ever written. By the time you read this, you’ll know who I am, and hopefully you won’t want to instantly tear this letter to shreds or place it in the fire. Hopefully, our partnership went well and you’re willing to do me one last favor.  
I’m pretty certain I’ll be dead by the time this letter reaches you. It’s not that I wanted to die, it was just something that happened. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to tell you when we meet. I’m sure I’ll tell you about my vision of my imminent death, but I doubt I’ll tell you every part of it. So, forgive me for my omission. I’ll mention the number 88 and the blackness that follows, but I doubt I’ll tell you the other part, that I saw your face in my vision. It was nice, though, because you were smiling, and there are worse things to see before you keel over.

So, even though you’re the Devil, and I’ve come to terms with that, I also know you’re a good guy, or at least a part of you is. Thanks in advance for helping me with my bucket list. I hope we had some fun together. I hope I wasn’t too much of a pain. If I was, you really can’t say anything about it, because I’m dead now, and you’d be a real jerk to say something bad about me after my tragic end. Just kidding.

In all seriousness, I’m sorry if you got hurt in all this. That was never my intention. So, if you don’t despise me, I could use your help. Please make sure these letters make it to their intended recipients. Send the photo to my Mom. She’ll be surprised I didn’t cut her out of it. Send the twist tie to Noah. He proposed to me with that. For some reason, I can feel your eyes rolling as I write this and you read it.

The bracelet is yours. It’s a dinky thing, but it was the last thing my Dad gave me before he died. He couldn’t afford real diamonds, but he told me my heart and personality were better than any diamond he could ever buy me. It was a lie, but it was cute. I wore that bracelet all the time. I only stopped wearing it because the clasp broke. So, I’m leaving the only remaining piece of my childhood with you, the Devil. Man, this is a weird letter. Keep it, give it to a friend, just don’t junk it.  
Okay, so, thanks again. Super sorry for any damage I may have caused. You can bill my estate. Just kidding. 

Thank you, Lucifer.  
I don’t know how to end this, so, peace out.  
-Faith-  
(P.S. I’m sure we’ll have several, annoying conversations about my name.)

Lucifer set the letter down. He wiped at his cheeks, realizing for the first time he’d been crying. “What an infuriating person,” he laughed. “You’re an infuriating deity,” he could hear Faith’s reply in his head.

The Devil set about his business quickly. He tucked the family photo into her mom’s letter, the twist tie into Noah’s, and sealed them both. He placed them in the outgoing mailbox and texted his workers that Lux would be reopening that evening and there were errands that needed attending to. It was time to get back to life. Lucifer deposited the bracelet safely away in his jacket pocket. He put his letter in its envelope and closed it back in the box. 

Lucifer made a quick stop at the penthouse before venturing out for the day. He opened his safe. Tucked inside, amidst his gold and his jewels, there was Faith’s list. He took a steadying breath as he pulled it out and added it to the shoe box. Staring at those two pieces of paper, it felt kind of like a funeral, or a celebration of life. It felt like a goodbye. Lucifer smiled. “Enjoy your time in the Silver City, Faith.” He carefully closed the box and placed it in his safe.


	25. . . . Peace

“Oh, Lucifer.” Chloe didn’t know what was more surprising, that Lucifer was outside her door, or that he’d actually knocked this time? 

“Are you busy, Detective?”

“Uh, no, I’m just getting Trixie ready to go with Dan for the weekend. Come on in.” Chloe stepped aside and let her partner in. “It’s good to see you out. How are you doing?” She’d been trying to balance her concern with his need for space.

“Fine, apart from the obscene amount of casseroles in my fridge.”

“Yeah, I told Ella she needed to stop, but you know how she is. I, uh, think you can freeze them.”

Lucifer wrinkled his nose. “Why would I want to freeze something I don’t even want to refrigerate?”

That was a good question, and Chloe didn’t have an answer for him. There was another knock at her door and Dan let himself in. “Hey, Chloe is Trixie ready?”

“Yeah. Trixie, your Dad’s here!” Chloe called down the hall.

Dan looked at the Devil. “Hey, Lucifer, I’m sorry about Faith. She was a pretty special person.”

“Yes, she was,” Lucifer agreed. His lack of a smart retort and the missed opportunity to call Dan a name clued Chloe in on exactly how her partner was feeling.

“Lucifer!” Trixie squealed as she ran out of her room, backpack slung over her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him, and he winced.

“Urchin,” he replied.

“Hi, Daddy.” Trixie released Lucifer and hugged Dan, who looked a little miffed to be her second choice.

“You all packed for the weekend?” Chloe asked and Trixie nodded. “Let me check.” The Detective removed her daughter’s backpack and opened it. “Trixie, there’s only stuffed animals in here.”

“Yep.”

“What about clothes?” Chloe pressed.

“And your toothbrush?” Dan added.

“You don’t keep an extra at your place?” Lucifer looked at Detective Espinoza.

“No, Trixie had a second toothbrush, until she flushed it,” Dan informed him.

“I was worried about my old goldfish and his dental hygiene,” Trixie explained.

“I have a drawer full of toothbrushes at my place. I’ll send some over.”

Dan made a face. “No, thank you.”

“Why does everyone make a face about my toothbrush drawer?”

“I’ll fix the bag, Dan.” Chloe gave her daughter a pointed look before walking off.

“I’ll help,” Dan offered and followed her.

“They never let me bring more than three stuffies anywhere,” Trixie huffed.

“Parents are the worst,” Lucifer surmised. “Urchin, I have something for you.”

Trixie’s eyes lit up. “Really, really?!”

“Yes.” The Devil pulled the bracelet out of his jacket pocket. It was in a little plastic bag now. The jeweler had wrapped it after he’d replaced the clasp and cleaned it up. 

Trixie’s eyes were even wider than before. “Are those diamonds?!”

“No, it’s better than that,” Lucifer explained as he took the bracelet out. 

“What’s better than diamonds?”

“Your heart and your personality.”

“I knew you liked me.” Trixie smiled.

“Don’t mistake me, you are annoying, but you have potential, and you have your mother in you. Hold your arms out,” Lucifer instructed.

Trixie did as told, and Lucifer inspected each to see which one was cleaner. “Don’t your parents bathe you?” he asked. The Devil settled on the left arm and gently placed the bracelet around her wrist.

Trixie pulled her hand to her chest and carefully ran her finger over the stones. “Thank you, Lucifer. I’ll treasure it forever.”

“I know you will.” Lucifer felt a twinge of pain in his chest, and it manifested itself on his face.

The child watched him. “You look sad. Are you sad?”

“Yes, Urchin,” he confessed. “I lost someone.”

“A friend?”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

Lucifer took a breath. He needed to approach this delicately or risk another incident like the time he’d tried to explain the Kama Sutra to the Detective’s offspring. “My friend left. She went somewhere else.”

“I had a friend move away last year, but I got to visit her over the summer. Can’t you go and visit?” Trixie pressed.

“No, I can’t. She’s gone somewhere I can no longer go.” And that’s what hurt the most, that Lucifer would never see Faith in any realm ever again. 

“Why can’t you go?”

Blast this child and her endless questions. Lucifer looked longingly at her bedroom. Seriously, how long did it take to throw some stuff in a bag? She was eight, her stuff wasn’t even that big. 

“Why can’t you go?” Trixie asked again.

“Uh, because my Father lives there, and he kicked me out, told me never to return.”

“Oh.” Trixie thought about it for a moment. “Are you sure he’s still mad? How long ago was the fight?”

“Millenia ago,” the Devil replied.

Trixie attempted a whistle. She couldn’t quite grasp that concept, but it sounded like a long time ago. “He’s probably forgotten all about it. I bet he’s not even mad anymore.”

Lucifer took another breath. “But I am.”

Trixie reached out and touched his hand. “It’s okay to be angry, but don’t be a doo doo head about it.”

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“Yep!” Trixie smiled.

“All right, the bag is packed, and you’re ready to go,” Chloe announced in exasperation as she and Dan left the bedroom. 

“Did you like the new way I organized my clothes?” Trixie wanted to know.

Chloe took a calming breath. “It’s, uh, certainly creative.” She handed Trixie her backpack. “And now Mommy knows what she’s doing with her weekend,” the Detective muttered.

“Let’s go, kiddo.” Dan opened the front door.

“Look what Lucifer gave me!” She showed them both her bracelet.

“Lucifer, it’s beautiful.” Chloe admired it. She was more impressed that it wasn’t actual diamonds but a real, practical gift for a child.

“It was Faith’s. She left me some things to take care of, odds and ends,” Lucifer explained, trying to keep his voice under control. 

Chloe reached out and touched his shoulder. “Trixie will take good care of it,” she assured him.

“Bye, Mommy.” Trixie gave Chloe a hug. “Bye, Lucifer.” She tried to give him a second hug, but he redirected her back to Dan.

“Once is quite enough, thank you.”

“Bye, Monkey.” Chloe kissed her daughter on the top of the head. “See you Monday.”

“Remember what I said,” Trixie told Lucifer as she left.

The door closed behind them and there was silence in the apartment. Chloe looked at Lucifer. “That was really nice, giving Faith’s bracelet to Trixie.”

“It’s a shame those two never got to meet.” Lucifer’s tone was sincere.

“Yeah.”

“They would have tormented us no end.” He smiled at the Detective, and she smiled back.

“Is there something you want to do today?” she asked him.

“I thought you had clothes to refile?”

“No, I’m putting that off till Sunday night.” Chloe waved her hand at Trixie’s bedroom, banishing the task form her mind.

Lucifer considered the Detective’s offer for a moment. “Can we go get some ice cream?” he asked at last.

Chloe’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, we can do that.” She grabbed her wallet, phone, and keys. 

“Wait,” Lucifer spoke as they moved for the door. 

“What is it?”

“Can we make one, quick stop first?”

“Wow, this view is incredible.” Chloe looked down at the valley stretching out beneath them. “How did you know about this spot?” She turned back to her partner.

“Faith introduced me to it. She referred to it as her spot.” Lucifer sighed.

Chloe nodded and continued to admire the view. She could feel her partner’s sadness beside her. It radiated off him the way his smarm and confidence usually did. She had a story she needed to share with him, and she hoped he would be receptive. “When I was eleven, my parents sent me to this camp for the summer. I was super shy, and I didn’t want to go, but they told me I’d have a good time. My first day, I was too afraid to talk to anyone. I sat alone at lunch, and then this girl came over to join me. Her name was Annabelle.”

“And the two of you were best of friends,” Lucifer supplied for her.

“We were for those two weeks. Then camp was over, and we went home. We wrote to each other for a while, called a few times, but then Annabelle stopped talking to me. I was busy with school and auditions, so I didn’t think too much about it, but I did miss her. I landed my first acting gig that year, a commercial ad, and for some reason the first person I wanted to call was Annabelle. So, I called, and her mom told me that she had died. She had leukemia. She’d had it all along, but I had never known.”

“Detective . . .”

“It’s okay,” Chloe assured him. “Annabelle and I only had those two weeks, but they were special, and they will always have a fond place in my heart. And even though we only had a few days with Faith, they were special, too. She meant something to me, and she meant something to you.”

Lucifer stared out at the horizon. He really didn’t want to cry again. He felt drained enough as it was. “I don’t know how to put it into words.”

“And that’s okay,” Chloe comforted. “It’s okay.” She leaned against him, a steady presence at his side. The silence stretched out before them like the suburbs. And then suddenly Chloe was moved to break that silence.

“Jeremiah was a bullfrog  
Was a good friend of mine,” the Detective sang.

Lucifer nearly toppled over the edge with surprise. “What are you doing?”

“Singing that song Faith liked,” Chloe explained before jumping back into the song.  
“I never understood a single word he said  
But I helped him a-drink his wine  
And he always had some mighty fine wine

Singin' joy to the world  
All the boys and girls now  
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea  
Joy to you and me.”

She nudged him with her shoulder. “Come on, I heard you singing it that morning.”

Lucifer took a breath and looked her straight in the eyes as he sang the second verse. 

“And if I were the king of the world  
Tell you what I'd do  
I'd throw away the cars and the bars and the war  
Make sweet love to you.”

“All right, now.” Chloe rolled her eyes. “Let’s take it to the chorus”

“Singin’, joy to the world  
All the boys and girls,” they sang together.  
“Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea . . .” Chloe made ridiculous swimming fish motions with her hand, and Lucifer joined her.  
“Joy to you and me.” They pointed to each other and laughed.

Chloe sighed and looked back at the scenery. She gently took Lucifer’s hand in hers and entwined their fingers together. The sun broke from behind a small, set of clouds it’d been hiding behind and bathed the world below them in a brilliant sheen of gold.

Lucifer gasped. “What is it?” Chloe looked at him.

“Nothing, just a memory.” He squeezed her hand.

“A good one?”

“Yes,” he assured her. Lucifer shot a glance at the sky. “All right, you can stop gloating,” he whispered. He could see the shit-eating grin on Faith’s face now.   
Chloe rested her head on his shoulder. Eventually they would have to leave, but not yet. In that moment, they had all they needed. In that moment there were bullfrogs, there was sunshine, there were fingers, and there was . . .

Lucifer took a deep breath and Chloe held his hand a little tighter.

. . .and there was peace.

End of Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading along. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


End file.
